


Midoriya the Dragon Soul

by Ironclad_Heart



Category: Monster Hunter (Video Games), 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead is So Done, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Midoriya Izuku, Crossover, Gen, How to Train Your Dragon References, Midoriya Izuku Does Not Have One for All Quirk, Midoriya Izuku Has a Quirk, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tatsuma Ryuko | Dragoon is a Major Character, Yagi Toshinori | All Might is thick as a brick, Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic is a Dork, Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic is a Good Friend, Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic is more chill, actually just alternate manipulation of science, implied magic, midoriya Izuku has dragons, monster hunter pocket dimension, romance maybe later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-02
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:41:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22991902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ironclad_Heart/pseuds/Ironclad_Heart
Summary: All the mythical creatures in history are inaccurate depictions of the Wyverns of Monster Hunter, the game itself not being a game in-universe but a basis for "The Order of Dragonsouls" an order dedication to natural science and Dragons since the world's many national dragon-based secret societies unified in 1921. Since recorded history, human culture has viewed dragons differently. But in the modern era, Dragons are myth thanks to dragon hunts, loss of territory, witch hunts against their supporters and protectors, pollution.One day a Dragon Shepherd will save a life and discover a new member for the Order, Midoriya Izuku. Midoriya is now caught between three worlds. The world of Heroes, the world of Dragons, and the real world occupied by civilians. Midoriya now knows of his quirk that lets him bond with dragons and use their strength, but this brings with it a whole host of trouble and new problems. What if the gate to being a hero meant he had to protect monsters from men?
Relationships: Asui Tsuyu/Midoriya Izuku (Maybe...)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 70





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> We all know the story, a boy in search of his purpose. Someone with a desire to save lives and inspire. His story is all the more admirable because he started with nothing but doubt and pain. But what if that boy’s future changed. What if the gate to being a hero meant he had to protect monsters from men?

Midoriya Izuku hadn’t given up hope of being rescued, but he felt himself drowning in the villain’s embrace. It got so bad he felt himself plunging into darkness, he began to see faint lights and heard a distant voice. He felt the cold and vile slime around him shift and grow warm, even hot. Then he heard a scream. It wasn’t coming from him, despite the fact he now found it had gotten easier to breath. 

The streets were fairly empty, almost no one was around this time of day, most everyone was at work or had already headed home from school. But on that fateful day, three people would meet below a bridge. The first there was less a man and more a being of foulness. The second was a young man who had spent yet another day resigned to his fate yet unawares of what was to come. But fate is mercurial and what happens in one moment in time is not the same in another.  
Midoriya felt himself take a tentative breath and then surge into another deeper breath before coughing until he felt as if he’d hacked out his lungs. He quickly bolted upright from where he’d been laying on the ground. He looked around the dark tunnel before he saw a strange man in a trench coat walk over to him from behind him. “Are you alright,” the man asked slowly in Japanese. Blinking, Midoriya saw that he clearly didn’t look ethnically Japanese.

The man was both outlandish yet easily dismissed by the casual observer in this day and age. Pale white skin, short brown hair which stood up on his head, looking like a ridge of hair running back along his head. A scraggle of curly hair hanging along his chin. He wore a long orange and black trench coat in an odd rhomboid pattern that looked like snake scales. The coat was unbuttoned so one could see the white shirt beneath. He also wore charcoal black jeans, and hiking boots on his feet. They appeared well worn, scuffed and with old dirt and other discolorations staining them. One hand was tucked in his pocket while the other held on to the strap of the black leather satchel he carried over his shoulder. He looked like some strange tourist; his facial features spoke of European descent. The only thing truly distinct about him were his yellow eyes, they were bright, sharp, and full of anxious intensity. They were also slitted like a reptile and the irises glowed faintly in the low light.

Then Midoriya noticed something else, he was wet. He looked and saw his body was coated in not quite water, the consistency was wrong, it felt oily. “The… THE VILLAIN,” Midoriya yelled in panic as he remembered he’d been attacked. “Relax, they are gone,” the strange man replied, kneeling down and placing his hand on Izuku’s shoulder. Midoriya had to take moment to calm himself before his mind switched to a new question. Looking at the man he asked, “did you fight him?” The man seemed to answer with a smile before offering his hand to help him up. As Midoriya reached out a surge of… something passed through them on contact.

By the time Midoriya was back on his feet the man’s expression had changed. The smile and casual demeanor were replaced. Looking back at him now the man’s eyes took on a new intensity and one of the corners of his mouth had quirked further upwards. Something like surprise and curiosity mingled on his face. “Is something wrong,” Midoriya asked, but the man went back to smiling just as quickly. “Can I ask you something young man,” was his reply. Izuku stared back with concern but nodded, just as curious. “Was your father… dragonlike in any way?” Izuku nodded, “my father could breath fire from his mouth, not a lot but it was a bit like breathing fire like a dragon.” The man nodded with a thoughtful look, then locked eyes on Izuku again and went back to smiling.

“Then let me introduce myself,” the man said before putting his own hand into the satchel that Izuku noticed he was carrying in his other hand. Strangely, while the satchel wasn’t large his hand kept going until it had swallowed it and his arm up to his elbow. Then he quickly withdrew it with something small and black wrapped up in his fingers. Surprised, Izuku couldn’t help taking a step closer and inspecting the mysterious object. It turned suddenly revealing it has a face and underbelly, long whip-like whiskers flowed out from its head and in the low light they flashed an iridescent blue-green color. Its back was pitch black and like sharkskin and the profile of the body had the shape of a manta ray, while it’s underbelly was barrel chested and from its tail up to its neck was bright pink and soft looking. Its face was red, beside the pale whiskers, and also branched off with two horizontal protrusions like a hammerhead shark. It carried itself with four grey-white legs and pudgy fingers with which it clung to the man’s fourth finger. Midoriya stared at it and it stared right back, swaying like it was being pushed by an underwater current. Then it made a strange chirping sound and spat a tiny orb of warm water at him, landing on his nose. Izuku stepped back and sputtered when the orb of water burst and sprayed his face while the man made a snickering sound. “She likes you, though it was a bit naughty of her to douse you again.” Midoriya blinked before looking back at the man. “What do you mean again?” The man turned before tipping his hand, and the small creature leapt away and glided to the ground. Then it started to grow rapidly, so rapidly that by the time it had turned around it barely fit inside the tunnel.

“My name is Draesari Ian, and this little lass is Banshee-Mara.” The man made a formal bow while the creature tilted its own head in mimicry. After a moment of shock, Izuku yelped and stumbled back. He was both frightened and in awe. Mara looked a lot less cute and a lot more scary like this. Her enlarged face revealed more details like her dark glassy eyes set pointed forward in her head and a set of semi-transparent fangs in her mouth as she breathed. With the pulsing whiskers, and as Izuku noticed, patterns on her underbelly Mara looked like a combination of Manta Ray, Angler Fish, and… Dragon. The whiskers that flowed from her face moved under their own direction and they reached out for Ian and Izuku both. Ian held out his hand and the whisker caressed it. The strobing lights changed to an orange color in response and Mara seemed to make a sighing sound in response. Hesitantly, Midoriya reached his own hand but waited for Mara to come to him like he had seen Ian do. When it reached him, the whisker was cool and moist but not uncomfortably so. It didn’t change color from the blue and green strobing pattern but Mara seemed to nod her head after a second of contact. Draesari nodded back and smiled before turning to Izuku, his own eyes still glowing in the low light. “When I came to this land, I didn’t think I’d meet a new Cìobair, but it seems I have!” The word was unfamiliar not least of which because it wasn’t English, that much Izuku could tell. But then in the next moment both Mara and Ian seemed to flinch. Then, as if by magic, Mara quickly shrunk back to her original size as she dived head first into the Satchel. 

A moment later and a manhole cover popped up out of its place and someone burst out of the underground. As suddenly as he appeared Midoriya had all but forgotten what he had just seen as he recognized the figure as All Might. Ian knew it was coming when he sensed the hero coming but couldn’t keep up with the conversation past the boy’s sudden exclamation of the hero’s name. He caught bits like when the boy indicated to Ian and All Might nodded and thanked him in Japanese for saving the boy but he lacked the fluency of the Japanese language to keep up. Suddenly the conversation dipped after the boy asked a particular question, Ian caught the discomfort in All Might before he responded and what he said, Ian managed to catch. The boy, or rather, Midoriya wanted to be a hero but had no quirk. All Might was firm about how dangerous hero work is and with the subtly of falling cinderblock, hit Midoriya with the harsh truth. Ian didn’t bother paying attention after that. He kept his eyes on Midoriya as the look of desolation spread across his face.  
It took a minute more for Ian to give directions on where the slime villain had taken off to, though after the scare and simultaneous high-power jet of water Mara blasted him with, he doubted the living grease stain would be hanging around. Once All Might the blunt instrument took off Ian turned to Midoriya only to find he had started walking off in the same direction. “Wait, Midoriya wait,” Ian called as he moved to catch up. Midoriya looked back with glistening eyes but didn’t answer. “I’m sorry, that was a personal matter and I stood there while that block-head ran his blody self-righteous mouth off.” Midoriya ran his hand over his eyes before replying, “its ok, he’s right… I can’t be a hero without a quirk.” Ian quickly shook his head with a frown before saying, “Your both wrong though!” Midoriya blinked in confusion, but before he could respond, Ian continued. “You think you don’t have a quirk because you’ve never had a chance to use it, but you do and I can prove it to you!” 

Ian quickly brought the black satchel out from wherever he had hidden it behind his back and held it out to Izuku. “Your quirk isn’t flashy or obvious but it is a great one, reach inside and draw forth your first companion! You are a Cìobair nan Dragons, a uh… a Shepherd of Dragons! Your quirk allows you to look after beings who cannot survive on their own in this world anymore.” Izuku looked at Ian in confusion before remembering that somehow Ian had pulled Banshee-Mara out of that satchel, a creature both large and frightening, something he’d never seen before. “What is Mara exactly,” Midoriya finally remembered to ask. “A Dragon Mòr na Mara, a great Sea Dragon of the deep ocean. More specifically she is a Namielle: native to the Gulf of Mexico. But shes one of the last of her kind after years of overfishing, pollution, and the years of climate change. But even before that, tell me; do you know what ancient knights were famous for?” Izuku took a moment to think before coming to a quick answer. Ian only nodded when he saw Midoriya’s face change in surprise and concern. Izuku looked back at Ian and then at the satchel. He took a deep breath and reached in.  
The feeling of leather quickly fell away as his hand reached in and felt a strange emptiness in its place. The kind one feels when they step through the entrance to a cave or an old dark cellar. Midoriya has a moment of doubt before stepping closer to reach further in. Finally, after reaching in all the way up to his shoulder his hand wraps around something. He flinches in surprise, almost expecting to feel teeth biting into his wrist. But whatever it is stays still and allows Midoriya to run his hand on it. It is dry, smooth, firm, and also… tingly? Yet it had a softness to it… a sense of vulnerability. Forcing every inch of his arm remaining to reach deeper Midoriya gradually realized he could get leverage on it and pull it out. Looking up at Ian while he pulled his arm out, he saw the man grinning from ear to ear. At last, Izuku’s hand came out of the satchel holding a massive egg. At least it looked like an egg, it was oval in shape and had a certain texture like the outer shell of a chicken egg. Unlike a chicken egg it looked durable, also it wasn’t a dull color. It was brightly colored with a sky blue and a pale yellow zig-zag pattern starting from the top to the wider bottom.

“What is this,” Midoriya asked with an incredulous look. Ian smiled back but had a hardness in his eyes, like he was pleasantly surprised but also concerned and said, “That, if I’m not mistaken, is a Zinogre Ugh or in Japanese, a Thunder Wolf-Dragon egg!” Ian took a moment to look thoughtful before continuing, “When you get home, you don’t need to worry too much about heat. Matter of fact, you don’t need to worry about a heat lamp. These particular beasties are very hardy. Despite their name, these dragons are solitary in nature but pairs are known to live together in good conditions. Every day you will want to check it over and spend time with it until it hatches. The way you can tell that the Wyvern embryo is healthy is the shell and its color, unlike your typical bird eggs. Dragon eggs will respond to changes in their occupant’s health through color change and its shape. But what’s more important is that Dragon Embryos can sense the presence of other beings and they bond with their parents while still in the egg.” Ian said this with a very serious look to his face and Midoriya fell back on years of hero studying habits and immediately stashed the egg in his backpack before he wrote down his instructions in the first notebook he could reach, the same notebook that Kacchan had so recently abused. 

“What is the incubation time,” Izuku asked after a moment of quickly writing out the header and starting notes for his new charge. “Judging by the egg’s color and how opaque it is…” Ian stepped around Izuku to place his hand under the egg and lift it. “By the heft I’d say soon… a month to a month and a half is my best estimate.” Midoriya noted the time, hoping the egg hatched later in the year so he could build up his knowledge of his new quirk and of dragons. “When it hatches, what will it eat?” “It’s a carnivore but don’t worry, when it hatches the supply guild of the Order will get you what you need.” “How large will it grow?” “After about three years, it’s growth will level out. Depending on how it has lived, a Dragon’s size can vary pretty noticeably. But on average a Zinogre will be two and a half meters at the shoulder, with another half meter from its ridge plates running parallel to its spine, and ten meters from nose to tail!” Midoriya’s hand twitches at the sizes, that won’t fit comfortably in his house! Thankfully it seems Dragons can adjust their size by requirement, or perhaps that had something to do with his quirk?

He paused on a particular point and looked up at Ian, “are you sure I have a quirk Mr. Draesari? Can’t anyone just look after one of these if they had these sorts of instructions, the funds and space?” Ian spent a moment looking… Izuku wasn’t sure what that was, before Ian explained. “No Midoriya, for one thing these creatures don’t tolerate normal people, they’ve learned to fear man. In the history of Dragons and Men, only a few were ever chosen as Shepherds, and this isn’t always inherited by blood, your father may have been a descendent of a Shepherd. Its more about the person themselves. I knew because like recognizes like and my beasties recognized you as one.” Midoriya thought back to that jolt when they clasped hands, when Mara had interacted with him, yet when All Might threatened to make an appearance, she went into hiding. Ian seemed to know what he was thinking and said, “These creatures all possess remarkable intelligence and empathic abilities. They sensed that you were suitable to be a Shepherd, but when Mara allowed you to touch her, that sold it. You’ll do great things young man, if an Elder marked you with their favor. But around normal people, they have learned to hide.” Midoriya nodded though he still wondered why, in the age of quirks, why hadn’t they been found? 

As he was about to ask Ian looked to the sky and seemed to focus on the position of the sun. He muttered something in a mix of English and the other strange language he used. “I’m afraid I must leave you now Midoriya, know that there are more of us than just you or I and I promised to meet with one on an important matter.” Ian spent a moment searching his coat pocket before pulling out what at first looked like business card but on closer inspection looked to be a playing card of some kind with scales on the back and on the face side a large green slitted eye peering through some kind of porthole made of knotted wood. “Speak my name into the card if you need to reach me, if I’m busy the eye will be closed.” Midoriya blinked and incredibly when his eyes opened the dragon eye was closed. “Wait, how does that…!” Midoriya stopped when he realized he was now alone with his notebook, a ‘magic’ card and an egg the size of a gallon jug stuffed in his backpack. After a moment of looking around confused Izuku had another thought rush into his head that made him jump. 

What am I going to tell my Mom?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time marches on, a life is born, a mother is conflicted, and a secret society is embroiled in bitter politics.

As it turns out, Mr. Draesari was not a deft hand at guessing the maturity of a Dragon Egg. Three months, a semester of school later, and Midoriya’s dragon had not hatched. He looked to it from where he sat on his bed. Yet another evening of the egg siting braced by old towels beside his desk. Its size was just so, that his desk helped conceal it from the doorway of his room. Fearing how his mother would react to it, he hadn’t told her about it. He did his best to deflect the story of the slime villain attack and save his mother some worry. Of course, she worried all the same but Izuku was used to it at this point. Besides, he had his way forward. Casually dropping off his backpack in his room before washing up for dinner. That evening, after doing his best to repair his notebook, he collected a new one from his supply of back-ups.

He transcribed his notes into his new notebook which he labeled: “My Future” and with a smile he went to work. After transcribing Mr. Draesari’s notes and advice, he went to work making initial estimates of his dragon’s growth patterns based on what he’d been told the likely size his dragon would reach in only three years. The mental image was intimidating. A creature, wolf-like in appearance… wait… Mr. Draesari had translated the name into ‘Thunder Wolf-Dragon’ but how wolf-like was it? What about the parts of it that made it a dragon? Could a dragon be… fluffy? Midoriya went to bed that evening contemplating just what he was dealing with, with no way to answer his own questions.

Now three months later and he still hadn’t heard from Mr. Draesari. He had checked the card he’d been given; the eye hadn’t been open at any point. He even set up an experiment where he set his phone on time lapse for a whole day, watching the card. He did see that in the time lapse the eye had… moved. As if the eye was asleep but dreaming, the eyelid moved but stayed closed. It was frustrating, yet he never gave up hope or doubted. He could feel it. The egg was alive. In moments of quiet he would pick up the egg from its nest of towels and hold it near. He felt a warmth in it, and after a week it made faint movements on its own when he held it. He would whisper to it, asking how it was doing, if it would hatch soon, and every time the egg would shake in response. Whatever was inside was alive and aware of him. It also seemed aware of his mood. Some days Kacchan would decide Midoriya had said or done something out of turn, or he was bored, or without warning would attack. When Izuku returned home on those days he wanted to be left alone. Instead he would hold the egg close and cry, and he felt the presence press close to him.

On one such night, Midoriya fell asleep laying up against the wall with the egg in his lap. He awoke the next morning before his alarm. He felt something touching him, brushing up against him in his sleep. A tiny, high pitched, and loud yowl woke him up in the end.

“Nnnggghhh… wha-“

In the low light of dawn he looked down at the remains of his egg. Broken open, flakes of its skin discarded everywhere. Still drowsy, Izuku looked to his left hand where he felt a soft nibbling sensation and something slimy against his arm. He saw what looked like a puppy… if a puppy had little spikes running in two lines down its back to its tail, the tail was covered in little ridges and puppies came in blue and white. Izuku looked at this small, blue and white, slimy buddle huddled against his arm and nibbling on his thumb and couldn’t figure out what he was looking at. Then it looked up at him its big blue eyes locked onto his.

**DADDY!**

Midoriya jumped as if he heard a little girl yell the word at him from somewhere nearby. But not nearby, no. Midoriya looked back to the egg, then the puppy. As he put the two together, he felt all his drowsiness burned away by excitement. “You hatched,” was all Midoriya could say before the Zinogre puppy started yowling… VERY LOUDLY! Izuku’s happiness and excitement where quickly overtaken by surprise and anxiety. He rushed to calm her, it was a her right? A quick shushing and his left hand on her body and she immediately stopped. Izuku listened for any sign that his dragon had been heard. For a moment he thought he was in the clear, before the sound of his door being opened made him freeze.

In the door frame, looking at him, the remains of the egg, and finally at the Zinogre puppy was his mother. Midoriya Inko stared and Izuku stared right back. It was the pup who broke the ice by slipping out from under Izuku’s hand and bounding to the edge of the bed on shaky legs before yowling again. Yet to Izuku it didn’t sound like a threat, it sounded happy. Both Midoriyas looked at the puppy, who now paced back and forth looking at the floor like it was looking for a way down, then Inko spoke. “So… the egg finally hatched… can we talk about it now?”

Izuku was somewhere in the range of mortified as he sat on the living room couch while holding onto his dragon. To his right, his mother was sitting in the arm chair with a hard look on her face. The room was quiet, even the pup could sense the tension and quietly shook against Izuku’s chest. His mother took a deep breath but said nothing, it would seem Izuku was to go first. “Remember the day I met All Might and he saved me from the slime villain?” His mother nodded so Izuku continued. “I… I lied about All Might saving me, he showed up later. I was saved by someone else. His name is Draesari Ian, he said he was a… dragon shepherd… and he had a dragon in his bag…” Saying it out loud, he doubted even he would believe it if not for having lived it. For his mother though, the puppy cradled against his chest seemed to be enough. “He gave you a dragon egg?” Izuku tried to smile but it locked up into a nervous grin. “In exchange for what?” His mother’s face grew more nervous. “Nothing, he could tell I had a quirk! One that allowed me to raise dragons!” Midoriya couldn’t stop his voice from rising but he could tell it wasn’t helping.

They both took a moment to look away and collect themselves. In the moment of quiet a little whimper went out. Both of them looked to the pup who had gotten herself turned around and sat up in Izuku’s arms, looking between them both.

**Hungry.**

Both Midoriyas blinked in surprise but Inko recovered first. “what does she eat, Izuku?” Looking up he saw his mother had relaxed with a gentle smile on her face. “She’s a carnivore so shredded meat should do it.”

Inko got up and went to the kitchen. “I think we have some chicken.” Midoriya didn’t know for sure but he was confident that it would be fine. He got up from the couch and moved to the dining table in the apartment. He set the puppy down on the table before sitting. The pup seemed torn between wanting to explore the table and staying close to Izuku, but she stayed near. A minute later and Inko returned with a plate of tiny diced chicken breast. The pup took a sniff before suddenly lunging for the bits but Izuku quickly stopped her. “Mom, she doesn’t have any teeth yet, she was nibbling on my finger earlier but I didn’t feel anything.” Inko quickly looked concerned. “Well do you know if dragons can drink milk?” But before they could discuss the matter further, the pup solved the issue by showing she did have teeth. The sound of hangry growling and the sight of the diced chicken getting chewed and shredded surprised them both. “Hunh, she may have retractable teeth… where have I heard of that?” was all Inko could say.

Meanwhile elsewhere in Japan

Ian was sitting in his own apartment at a desk made of rough wood, covered in a mess of materials. He sat there writing a report on recent investigations into feral Crimson Pukei-Pukei pushing boundaries in the Andes after a drought caused several of the Order’s purpose-built reservoirs to dry up. More work for the Andean Shepherds and more fuel for the radicals. The sound of heavy footsteps on wood followed by knocking on his apartment’s doorframe heralded the arrival of a friend. “The report can wait; meeting of the guilds has been called upstairs.” Ian looked up and saw a man standing in steel adorned with dragon parts to honor a long-lost partner.

“Am I finally being allowed to speak, Huntsmaster? My input has been revoked along with my right to travel if you recall.” Ian had spent the last three months trapped here after ‘nearly’ exposing an elder dragon to a ‘deviant human’ and Ian could barely hold back the snort of irony. At this point the ‘deviant human’ population heavily outnumbered the normal humans. Yet they weren’t like them either, deviants because for all their power and variation they weren’t Dragonsouls.

The Huntsmaster huffed under his helm and turned to leave. Moments later Ian sighed and set down his pencil. There was no arguing or dismissing the Huntsmaster or the Guilds. Walking out of his apartment he was met by the cool moisture spraying down from the massive waterfall beside him. His apartment was one of many imbedded in the wall of a cliffside but well made and shielded from most of the elements. A quick trip up the commonway to a lift powered by the waterfall and in five minutes he was in the Guildhall. Styled much like the roman senate of old with open floor and stairs for seats. Speaker stood below while other listened. The seats themselves were free and members or guests could sit anywhere but usually guilds and political parties clustered together, forming blocks of people with the most important sitting forefront and closest to the floor so as to quickly reach another speaker who is in need of a proper verbal assault.

Ian found these sessions tedious, but at least with three parties it was difficult for stalemates to occur. Today though the number of speakers and listeners was decidedly numerous. Ian fell in with his own Guild, the Hunting Guild. Made up of a majority of radicals and moderates thanks to their increased exposure to the outside world through their assignments, investigations, and travels. Ian counted himself as a moderate but a staunch member of the Hunting Guild. He had traveled far and seen much of the world; such experience left him jaded he well knew. Today was more of the same issue that had been festering in the Guildhall for as long as Ian could remember.

“Masters and Members of the Guilds I once more put forth that the issues we face call for the end of our connection of the outside world and enact the New World Plan!” The Speaker was Hirotoshi Akira, Leader-Elect of the Research Guild and effectively the leader of the Traditionalist Political Bloc. The Traditionalists ever and always arguing that those who are not Dragonsouls have unfortunately circumvented nature. Both Dragons and we Dragonsouls should seal ourselves away from the world as much as we can and jealously guard those remaining unexplored and undiscovered refuges that are left. The most extreme idea is to take Astera, the masterfully crafted pocket dimension of Master Artificer Hycuup of Scandinavia and break our connection with our home dimension before trying to expand the realm of Astera.

“New Speaker on the floor Akira!” Of course, it wouldn’t be a proper Guildhall meeting without his Grand-Niece Tatsuma Ryuko (member of the Hunters Guild and Leader of the Radicals). “Once again you suggest abandoning countless species of dragons and our world for a pipe dream Akira! We cannot! We lack the means to expand Astera let alone separate it from our true home. And even to do so is to leave countless Dragons and other species to die!”

Tatsuma… I may be a moderate but I find her Radical arguments make more sense… except…

“We should not be afraid; we must step forth and tell the world we exist! That we have always existed!”

Tatsuma is bold, bold enough to call herself a dragon to the world and make herself a hero. But because she is unique the world cherishes her. But Humanity is far less sympathetic to numerous and less marketable things, try selling people on letting a giant, territorial, fire-breathing animal live near them. Its fine as long as they don’t stand out in the open and accept losing a few heads of cattle a day.

Ian tones out what comes next, the shouting match between Hirotoshi, his followers, Tatsuma, and her followers. It lasts a good few minutes but its short compared to some fights that have happened. One of them must be in a good mood if the- “We’ve found another Dragonsoul Great-Uncle! One from the outside world!” Ian feels him head start to simmer. “Another outsider, another potential leak, another calamity in waiting,” is all Hirotoshi has to say in response, the old be-whiskered fudd turning aside in dismissal. “His name is Midoriya Izuku, and YOU denied his entry three months ago claiming he couldn’t be one with just an egg from our Horde of the Lost! But the egg hatched!”

Ok, now I’m with Tatsuma.

“I told you he was one Hirotoshi-“ Ian was immedietly shouted down by the audience, he hadn’t the right to speak after his censure. Ian didn’t care, he was vindicated and if this came to a head, he’d get his right to travel back.

Freedom…

Hours later at the Midoriya Apartment

Izuku was sitting on the couch with his newly christened Dragon. He and his mother had talked, she wasn’t happy she had to discover the egg one day while cleaning his room when he forgot only to discover it and realize it was alive. But she had waited for him to speak to her about it. When Izuku explained that this was his quirk, to commune with dragons and even potentially use their powers, she was not thrilled. She had never truly wanted Izuku to be a hero, she was afraid for his life. Villains had been getting stronger until recently, only Heroes like All-Might had been keeping all but the worst of them in check. But Izuku wouldn’t give up, he told her that this was his chance. To wield the power of a dragon? There was already a dragon hero! So why couldn’t he? In the end she admitted she wanted Izuku to be happy. So now Izuku sits with Nariko the Zinogre! It was a simple name for her and Izuku had wanted more for his partner in heroics but Nariko made her own opinion known. More surprising was that Inko could hear Nariko too. Izuku hypothesized that because his mother had spent time with the egg (by just being in the house and periodically checking on it) that Nariko had bonded to her as well. Dragons were supposed to be empathic so it wasn’t out of the question.

Then suddenly Nariko looked to the apartment entrance and yowled, as soon as she finished the doorbell rang. It was a bit unusual for a guest to come here but the Midoriyas had learned that a yowl was a good sign, whereas at one point the mailman had come to the door and Nariko had tried to hide under Izuku’s hand when it happened. “I’ll get it Mom; I think I know who it is.” Izuku pulled the card he had been given by Ian out as he walked to the door and found the eye was open.

“It’s good to see your again Mr. Midoriya, may I come in?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2, a bit shorter then the last but I've been fighting myself to STOP TRYING TO PACK AS MUCH EXPOSITION INTO A GIVEN CHAPTER, ITS BORING!
> 
> And a few notes, Despite how impressive looking they are, Zinogres are not Elder Dragons. They aren't anything to scoff at though. As for Ian being bonded with a Namielle in the first chapter, I fear I wrote him into a corner because in my headcannon, Dragonsouls can only bond with one Elder Dragon species at a time. Only the Elders death would enable a new pair but Elders and in particular Elders willing to partner with a Dragonsoul and as rare as they come. Don't expect Midoriya to find and bond with one for some time. I haven't even begun to contemplate which one...
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy and as always comments, kudos, and follows are greatly appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introductions, a history lesson, and a training montage… kind of
> 
> Edit: Chapter Three is here

Ian went to work untying his boots on the threshold while Izuku informed him of the egg’s hatching. “Was it a test? To see if the egg would hatch once you gave it to me?” Izuku sounded happy to see Ian but he could hear the unsaid words, _did you think you were wrong after you met me, why leave me alone for three months with no contact?_ As Ian stood up, he put on a smile, “No, I had no doubt about you Midoriya. That egg wouldn’t have appeared if it didn’t choose you.” Izuku looked surprised before looking down at the little blue wolf dragon in his arms and… _‘oh damn he’s crying, I knew my absence would be tough but…’_ Ian placed a hand on Izuku’s shoulder prepared to apologize and explain but the words caught in his throat when Izuku looked back up with a smile like a silent prayer had been answered. “It still doesn’t seem real. I have a quirk, one that makes me able to bring a legend to life!” It wasn’t what Ian was expecting, but it wasn’t a bad thing to be surprised like this. He couldn’t stop the low chuckle building in him and it grew. Izuku seemed just as ready to laugh and for a moment they just reveled in it.

A polite cough broke through after a moment and Ian looked to see a smiling woman that bore a clear family resemblance. “Hello, my name is Midoriya Inko, Izuku’s mother. You must be Mr. Draesari. A pleasure to meet you.” She finished her introduction with a bow, one which Ian returned with a much deeper bow, much to both Midoriya’s surprise. “Mrs. Midoriya, please forgive me for leaving your son _in the lurch._ I did not mean for him to try and handle this on his own for so long, though it seems he’s suffered far less than I worried. As embarrassing as it is, I’m more than glad to have miscalculated the egg’s maturity. I’ll spare you both the long version and just say I bent the Order’s rules too far and it earned me a punishment. Probation from field work or public speaking until relieved.” Ian held the bow for a few moments before Inko realized he was waiting for a verdict. Inko felt concern but she could tell the man was honest and well-meaning, much like her son. She couldn’t help but smile at the man, “I forgive you Mr. Draesari, as long as from now on we can count on you to help my son with his newfound responsibility.” Ian rose and quickly nodded in the affirmative before turning back to Izuku.

“So, she just hatched today then,” Ian nodded to himself while bending down to inspect the pup. Nariko wasn’t shy and tried to lean out of Izuku’s arms to get a closer view of Ian. The two seemed to lock eyes for a moment before they both seemed to accept something. Ian rose back to his full height, “She’s big for a newly hatched, that I’m certain of. It’s a good sign, you likely gave her a lot of attention. That means plenty of energy to feed on from her surroundings.” Once again both Midoriyas couldn’t help looking confused. Ian took it in stride though, quickly offering thanks for being invited in before making for the dinner table and… where’d his satchel come from? He wasn’t carrying it when he entered. What’s more his features had changed.

His hair had grown darker and lay closer to his head. His eyes were green, not yellow, and the pupils were round instead of reptilian slits. “Uh, Mr. Daesari… you look different from what Izuku described.” Ian looked up to Mrs. Midoriya, pondering her question for a moment before smiling. “Ah yes, at the time I had used my quirk to channel the keen vision one of my dragons possess to help me see your son in the tunnel on that… particular day. A sub-species of Tobi Kadachi, a terrestrial drake from the Mediterranean.” Ian resumed rummaging in his satchel and in a moment seemed to find what he was looking for, once again only after plunging his arm up to his elbow into the satchel.

The Midoriya’s only grew more confused when Ian retrieved a digital tablet instead of some large parchment filled tome. Looking up, Ian couldn’t help but smirk, “The Research Guild and Traditionalists may insist on using books for keeping records but the rest of us realize the efficiency and ease computers give. Sorry to disappoint.” Izuku settled into the chair beside Ian, setting Nariko down on the table while Mrs. Midoriya seemed content to listen from the kitchen while she went to work preparing dinner. “Mr. Draesari, do you like pork cutlets?” Without pausing from opening the password lock on his tablet Ian replied, “not my favorite but I certainly won’t refuse, give me a small portion and maybe another for our fourth.”

Inko hadn’t thought Mr. Draesari could surprise her at this point, but she was wrong. “Fourth… someone else is coming?” Ian nodded but didn’t elaborate. “Tobi… ah! Ok, here we go.” Ian propped up the pad for Izuku to see. On the screen was a large, silver, scaly and fur covered creature. The screen showed a frontal profile and a side profile beside. It reminded Izuku of a weird amalgamation of squirrel, snake, and monitor lizard but not much in the way of a dragon. Then, pushing an arrow on the right edge of the screen, the creature’s profile swapped to reveal a very similar orange, brown and black speckled variation. Izuku also noticed that unlike its predecessor, this one had bright yellow eyes in place of red ones. Izuku noticed the name at the top, labeling this one a ‘Viper Tobi Kadachi’. “So, this is a dragon too?” Ian nodded but also seemed to smile knowingly. “More specifically the Tobi Kadachi is a Drake, like your Zinogre. It’s a quadruped with no dedicated limbs for wings, although unlike your Zinogre, Tobi Kadachi possess a membrane from their front legs to their back legs that allow them to glide like a flying squirrel. They live and hunt in the wild hills and mountains of the Mediterranean. In particular, the Viper Kadachi has a nasty combo of paralytic and neurolytic poisons in its mouth and tail respectively. The Viper Kadachi uses its bite to hunt prey, paralyze, and kill before eating. The neurolytic poison is in quills sheathed in its tail which it uses to attack predators. With sufficient force, the Kadachi can launch those quills from its body to act as projectiles.”

Izuku absorbed all of the information like a sponge. “Rather ironically… have you ever heard of a basilisk?” Izuku thought for a moment before slowly shaking his head. “That’s alright, in Greek and European myth, the Basilisk is a massive snake monster whose gaze can kill by petrifying those it locks eyes with. Research and deduction lead the Guild to realize that the Basilisk were survivors of run ins with Tobi Kadachis (and their sub species) whose piercing gaze, lightening speed and serpentine movement patterns left victims paralyzed with fear or by being bitten before being dragged away only to expire as the venom killed them by stopping their hearts.”

“As fascinating as this is… can we not discuss this right before dinner?” Inko asked with an uncomfortable look on her face, glancing at Nariko with concern for what her potential powers might entail. Ian had the decency to look embarrassed before switching to search for Zinogre in the database. Almost immediately the view changed to a large, muscled, armored, and intimidating figure. “Zinogre, the Thunder Wolf-Dragon. Body pattern: drake. Has special organs that let it sense, pull, and empower itself with ions. Can use those same senses to detect the active ions in living things, can be confused by anything that uses electricity but can also use close sources of electricity to quickly supercharge itself.” Izuku involuntarily felt himself look at Nariko and then at the lights in the ceiling. Perhaps by coincidence, the lights flickered for a moment. “So Nariko can attract ions and store them in her body and later discharge them?” Ian nodded and continued that thought, “with far more control than just a random discharge, the fur on her body can be charged so that if she strikes the ground, or preferably a target, those ions will discharge into the point of impact. There’s an old Scottish Dragonsoul saying for the Zinogre; the storm walks with them.”

Izuku imagined the thought of Nariko clawing at a foe, only for them to suffer electrocution at the same time, and winced. “I’m going to have to figure out how to get her to only discharge enough to not kill people or blow a hole in local property.” Ian laughter had gotten familiar but it attracted Izuku’s attention all the same. “You forget what I told you? Typically, it’s not going to be Nariko on display. Your quirk isn’t just the ability to raise or commune with dragons through sharing of emotions or raw thoughts. Your quirk allows you to combine elements of your dragon partner with yourself. The transformation work can be disorientating at the start but with time, practice, and self-control, you can channel their power through your body for a time.” Izuku tried but… self-doubt tainted his mental image. He saw flaws, mistakes, losing control. As always, Ian seemed to know when Izuku’s thoughts turned dark. “Hey, as I said. Time, practice… no one learned how to master merging aspects with a dragon at the very beginning.”

“Dinner’s almost ready, are you sure someone else is coming?” Ian looked over his shoulder then checked the time displayed on his tablet. “She might be stuck on call, if she is then she’ll probably reschedule.” Izuku thought for a moment before… no… “Would we happen to be waiting for Tatsuma Ryuko?” Ian looked pleased at Izuku’s guess and nodded. “While I was stuck on probation, she picked up on your egg and subsequently, you. When she brought news of your egg hatching, it swayed the Guilds to take me off probation and request that I become your sensei, which I agreed to.” Izuku couldn’t hide his surprise. He and Ian had only met once but he wanted to be his sensei! “I- T-Thank you! I’ll do my best to learn from you!” Izuku’s bow could break the sound barrier but all Ian could do was chuckle and pat his new pupil on the shoulder. “Its fine, it was meant as a secondary punishment because it means I can no longer travel on assignments but I think I was due for a change in my work anyway. Too much of the same lately, it was starting to get tedious.” Nariko had been quiet, resting on the table next to Izuku. Then suddenly she raised her head and yowled. A moment later and the doorbell rang. “That’ll be Tatsuma, wait here please.” Ian gently got up from his seat and made for the door, Inko followed him with her eyes.

Ian quickly checked the porthole and opened the door. “Hello Draesari, sorry I’m late. Paperwork on both sides.” Standing there at the door in sweatshirt and slacks was Tatsuma. Ian smiled at how much more comfortable she looked dressed like this instead of what amounted to her uniform as both a hero and a member of the Order. Then Izuku started screaming… but… _why…_ Ian looked back in alarm but Izuku had stopped and instead was busy spitting out a stream of muttered gibberish. Ian supposed it would make more sense if he was more fluent in Japanese. “Oh my, perhaps you should have told him I was coming?” Ian tried and failed to hide his incredulousness as he looked back to Tatsuma, “I did.”

After a few minutes of rampant hero worship, traded pleasantries, and a quick update on how far Izuku had been brought up to speed (not much at all), everyone was sat at the dinner table with a chorus of itadakimasu. “I have a few questions about the Order.” Izuku was more busy feeding Nariko than eating. “I’d be surprised if you didn’t,” came Tatsuma’s reply after a moment. “I suppose I should start at the figurative beginning… how old is the Order?” Tatsuma took a moment to ponder, Ian knew immediately that this had a more nuanced answer. “The Order as it is today was formed in 1921 after an international meeting of every existing national order, cult, etc. met in Japan.”

“Japan’s national Dragon society was a secret to the public from its inception. Formed in the early days of the emperors. As Dragons in their many forms were viewed as divine and often revered. The Emperors of old, seeking legitimacy, formed the ‘Divine Menagerie.’ This wasn’t its original name as the old one is lost to time. Later, the capture and keeping of Dragons to sacred sites in Japan was the task of the members of the Divine Menagerie. With backing from a central and undisputed authority, they had immeserable power. Which meant dragons flourished in Japan until the fall of the Emperor’s divinity with the civil war that led to the formation of the Tokugawa Shogunate. The Divine Menagerie went into hiding to preserve their sacred purpose, not trusting the Tokugawa Shogunate. They attempted to resurface after the end of the Meiji Restoration but their period of isolation, modern influences, and the fact that the Emperor was a ceremonial figure had eroded their own authority and legitimacy. Desperate to preserve the Dragons they still revered while losing sacred grounds in the wake of the land reforms, they sought allies. They were surprised to discover other nations had like minded groups of varying size and success.” Tatsuma had held a gentle smile through her lecture, until she resumed. “Unfortunately, the Emperor leaked the information of Dragons existing in foreign lands to his ministers and the upper government. Attempts at forcing the Dragon Menagerie to steal or kill Dragons from other lands alienated the Dragon Menagerie members, most of whom had generational ties to the order. So, taking inspiration from the Europeans nations formation of the ‘League of Nations,’ predecessor of the United Nations, the Dragon Menagerie hosted a meeting of foreign delegates to form an international Dragon Menagerie, later named the Order of Dragonsouls in honor of the French delegation and their own efforts to create the Order’s charter.” Tatsuma finally took a break to eat and drink. “The Japanese government wasn’t pleased; they tried to purge the Japanese branch and oust the foreign delegation. That failed when their forces breached a number of sites only for them to get killed by the creatures that had been living in controlled environments for centuries without human violence. Suffice to say, Kirins, Rajangs, and even the Dalamadur living on Mt. Tsurugi did not take kindly to their homes being invaded by angry men with guns.”

Ian looked tired as he picked up the narrative. Both Midoriyas shared a look as they realized the legends surrounding the mountain may be more real than they thought. “Indeed… the government, terrified as they realized that these creatures could rampage with power beyond reckoning and partnered with their keepers, quickly sued for peace. But the damage was done, the Order formed with an agreement with the Japanese government and the Emperor that they were now an international, autonomous group that would keep the Dragons away from man, but the government had little to no control.” Tatsuma took a moment to space out and smile, as if thinking fondly of such reckless freedom. “Didn’t last though… WWII happened only a few years later and the Order was fractured thanks to the war. No one knows how much damage Dragon populations suffered in the wake of the war, but the nuke… that brought us back to the table. The Order agreed to reveal themselves to the UN in a limited capacity but conceal their locations to each country. Fear of exploitation or dragon hunts kept us at arm’s length from the rest of the world. Its only been recent events that led to the rise of dragon aspects. Started when, you guessed it, quirks started to manifest.”

Izuku felt a bit of satisfaction, things were making sense… kind of. “So how have dragons remained a secret, even now? With quirks, dragons don’t seem so frightening. Fantasy is now reality.” Tatsuma and Ian shared a look, Ian went back to looking tired and Tatsuma looked frustrated. “Politics… politics on both sides, fear and suspicion, and the fact that the biggest decline in dragon populations worldwide has been caused by loss of air quality and environmental changes. Dragons are large creatures even at their smallest species, they take massive amounts of territory, food, and environmental stability to live. The building environmental crisis of the past few centuries alongside conflicts between dragons and encroaching people means dragons are backed into corners on every corner of the globe.” Ian voice seemed to carry a weight borne of painful experience. “With how easy conflict brews between people and dragons over space, both world governments and the Order agree that keeping them separate is the safest option. We handle the dragons, they handle cover-up.”

Izuku looked to Ian and then Tatsuma who looked more frustrated and perhaps even angry. “So, you being a hero is an attempt at outreach, Dragoon?” Tatsuma looked away for a moment, “No Midoriya, its an act of rebellion… I lead a rising number of Order members and initiated government agency members who realize humans and dragons can’t survive unless we integrate.” Izuku felt his mother shift in her seat. “Does that mean that being a hero is for your cause?” Tatsuma looked at Inko, a troubled look on her face. “I was young and passionate when I started, I’ve realized though, I enjoy being a hero for the sake of helping people. I have a gift that saves lives. If, one day, both sides agree to it… then we’ll reveal ourselves. We’re wise enough to know that suddenly appearing and attempting to force change will be worse than natural reform. Yet we are labeled radicals just for considering it.” At this Tatsuma displayed genuine anger, that anger manifesting as she started to show pale white scales on areas of her skin.

Ian placed a hand on Tatsuma’s shoulder and she jumped, then grit her teeth before calming. “An early lesson for you Izuku. You must keep control over your emotions, or else your partners may manifest in response. Lose too much of yourself and the dragon takes over.” Tatsuma nodded before finishing her meal in haste. “Thank you for your hospitailty, but it’s getting on and I have a patrol early tomorrow. I’ll keep my eye out for you Midoriya Izuku, take care.” Tatsuma seemed to rush now, perhaps embarrassed from her display, Izuku noted that she also seemed to still be angry. When they heard the door shut, Ian spoke up. “She’s gone through a lot as the head of the ‘radicals’ but I tend to agree, isolation won’t save anything in the long run.”

Ian took a moment to tap at his tablet before sighing. “I’d love to stay longer but it is getting late and you have school in the morning Izuku. Send me a message of when you get out of class with a meet-up and I’ll be there. Your training starts immediately.” Izuku nodded while his mother cleared dishes. Nariko had stayed relatively quiet and close to Izuku, seemingly asleep after eating.

The next day after school, and after dodging Kacchan as he left, Izuku met Ian at a nearby park. Moments later the both of them disappeared after a large humanoid cat being appeared and the world fell away. Hours later Izuku returned to a quiet corner on his neighborhood, almost next to his home. He had dinner, told his mother about his day, then went to his room with a new magic schoolbag which resembled the one he used for school perfectly. It was called (rather unoriginally) a bag of holding. A near bottomless pocket universe that functioned like a bag of holding from a video game. From it Nariko hopped out before curling up on Izuku’s bed. Izuku sat down at his desk and pulled out a notebook.

My Future Notebook No. 1

Day 1 of Training with Draesari-Sensei

Today was my first day of actual training. I met a being called a Felinis Sapiens. Apparently, some cats are like humans; intelligent, upright, and they possess quirks. But for these ‘palicos’ the quirk is the same; the ability to navigate a maze of quantum holes to travel great distances. Sadly, they can’t share this power easily. Only the efforts of the First Wyverians like Master Arctificer Archimedes and later Master Artificer Hycuup of BŸrk expanding on Archimedes’ research into pocket dimensions allowed the creation of a human accessible pocket world. That world is Astera. Draesari-Sensei took me to Astera with his palico friend, a being known as Chedders. Palico names don’t really translate to human languages so they keep nicknames for each other. I don’t think I’ll ever understand the Palico language, to me it just sounded like a bunch of meowing…

As for training, we traveled to the first part of Astera to ever be made. Hycuup’s first work, which was a proof of concept at the time. Today it’s the training ground for beginners. A decently sized open area with barrels, a hill, cliffs to climb and jump off, and the ‘scratching post.’ The scratching post is a 4-meter-tall pillar which looks like its namesake. Countless cuts, ruts, and scoring from harmful elements. Charing, water damage, even signs of frost appear. Sensei explained that the pillar had originally been for his own Dragon to toy with. Later on, someone ‘enchanted’ it with a form perpetuation, any damage the pillar suffers now will be repaired moments later. The pillar can be attacked in any fashion and it will rebuild itself. It serves as both a target and a measure of one’s ability without fear of property damage.

First, Sensei instructed me to explore with Nariko to warm up and learn the area. Once we had finished, we just… kind of played around. Sensei said that our ability to perform fusion partly comes from trust and familiarity. He also said I needed to build my own physical strength. Using Nariko’s strength while fused is easier to control, the stronger I am in relation. He also said that my body will be receiving most of the strain and punishment unless I let too much control go to Nariko. Balancing the fusion to stay in control will also be easier if Nariko trusts me. So, we played. By the end of a bunch of different games, we were both tired but… I don’t feel like I wasted the day. For being only two days old (out of the egg anyway) Nariko is surprisingly strong and fast for being the size of a ‘Russel Terrier’ as Sensei put it.

Nariko’s grasp of words conveyed through empathic telepathy is getting better too. I’m still ‘daddy’ but Mom has become ‘Grandma’ and Sensei is ‘friend’ and it’s getting easier to tell what certain sounds and behavior mean. I also learned Nariko can already make limited use of her control over ions. During a bit of play fighting with a barrel close to her size, I saw flickering blue lights being pulled towards her and suddenly she struck the barrel and it charred where she struck. She transmitted a high voltage strike into the barrel in the shape of her foot on the barrel like a brand. Sensei also answered a question I had since the day with the chicken. “Zinogre teeth are more fragile than most dragons. They conceal them in a protective lining of their lips. They attack prey with their claws, horns, and shocks. Once their prey is dead, they will use their teeth to sheer meat off the body for eating, they also chew their food (more so than most species of dragons).

Day 4 of Training

Today we started to perform early fusion. Sensei instructed me to ‘reach out’ with my empathic connection to Nariko and attempt to ‘pull’ her essence into me. If it worked, she would disappear and then I could manifest parts of her on my own body. The idea was to get my fingernails to grow to resemble her own claws. After a few attempts though, Nariko hadn’t been able to sit still or I wasn’t successful at making the connection. Its disappointing but Sensei said not to worry. He said its ‘early days’ and it was unlikely. In between the workouts, playing, and even some sparring with Sensei, I’m to set aside time to try and perform a successful fusion. From there, I’ll be able to practice controlling it. Speed of fusing, the level of visible traits and bodily change, and most important; how far I can go before Nariko starts influencing my body more than my own mind.

Day 14

Two weeks! It’s taken two weeks but she finally heard me! Sensei was able to figure out what my problem was. It is a partnership but I need to be the dominant voice. I was being too passive, too meek in my signals. Part of control is being able to dictate terms, control over not just my own thoughts and wants, but the dragons as well. I lost it almost immediately, Nariko is harder to keep control of than I thought, but its progress. A minute of stressful but wonderful progress and I fought to keep her claws and nothing more. It was tough, Nariko seemed to not enjoy being confined as she was. At first, she was fine, curious and happy about finally fusing with me. Seeing the world through each other’s eyes, my fingernails growing long, sharp, and hard. But as soon as I got excited… Sensei had to hit me with a snowball. It seems Nariko, and Zinogres for that matter, deeply dislike the cold. He explained that in the short moment I got excited, I started to lose control. The claws grew up my hand and my hair rapidly changed color. Control means not letting my emotions get away from me, dragons react to such excitement with a flood of power. I wasn’t able to fuse again after that; Sensei suspects my mistake cost me my confidence. Hopefully, I get a fresh start tomorrow.

Day 28

Its been an uphill struggle, tough on my body and mind. Every time I seem to fuse, I’m fighting with both my emotions and Nariko to stay in control. But I’ve made progress. I’m able to fuse with Nariko, I’m able to restrict it to my hands, and I’m able to hold onto control for about five minutes before we have to unfuse. The weak point is I’m unable to fuse again for an hour or else I immediately lose control and get pummeled with snowballs! It is made worse by the fact that Nariko deeply enjoys fusion. The more we fuse, the smarter she gets by imprinting off my mind and memories. She’s getting wily too. She knows how to open doors as long as they have a handle, open the fridge (at least she closes it after she’s done, but that just means its harder to know when she’s raided it), turn off electronics by pulling their power supply (which is the worst because then we have to find a safe way to discharge the buildup), and she always wants to sneak to school.

She never enjoyed me leaving her and the bag of holding when I leave on school days. She figured out early on that there wasn’t enough room to hide in my normal bag, so one day she figured out to swap them. Yesterday, I’m in homeroom when suddenly my bag starts squirming! I don’t know how I didn’t sense her before (the guilty silence she’s giving me about it tells me she hid until we were there), I had to spend the whole day keeping her inside while I used the bag of holdings other pockets to pull out what I could. I’m so glad Kacchan decided not to even acknowledge me that day, Nariko could sense him and the negative emotions I felt every time he so much as moved or spoke… I had trouble remembering it was Nariko who was imagining…

Still, in the space of a month I have managed to build up my physical strength and endurance. I’m able to lift things more easily, run further and even a bit faster. Its actually helped me in avoiding Kacchan a bit. Not always, some days he seems to really dislike me outrunning him conventionally. Now I’m hoping that soon I’ll be able to hold onto control during fusion while also being able to move and use our combined power. Part of my training has been to practice offensive and even some counter-attacks on the scratching post with only my own body. The results have been decidedly underwhelming compared to what Nariko can do just playfully mimicking me. She’s blasted the pillar into splintered chunks on several occasions when she builds enough charge. It also reminds me of the fact that she is growing at an intimidating rate! She’s now the size of a german shepherd, will she be able to fit in the apartment in ten months?

Day 62

Today was our first day outside of the Training Area. I’ve finally managed to get sustainable control over Nariko during fusion. As it stands, I’m able to keep the shift to my hands for about ten minutes under duress. Duress being the full contact sparing I’m doing with Sensei! Fighting Sensei and his fusion with Diamondback (his Viper Kadachi) is more than challenging, it can really hurt. He keeps his own hands free of talons and mostly hits me with palm strikes and chops but the power is there. Besides, reading me like an open book he’s also got Diamondback’s speed and flexibility. He’s able to bend around and out of the way of things like he’s water. He also fights pretty dirty, he strikes at the throat, the kidneys, the joints on limbs (he particularly likes going after my elbows, though I can see why). But he raised a good point about it. “As a hero, your going to be fighting villains; criminals without scruples about doing the same. Its not fighting dirty, its fighting smart. It’s the best way to disable an opponent as well.”

But I do hold one advantage over Sensei, I can channel Nariko’s ability to harness ions as well. If I do land a hit, or even a block with my hand, I can shock Sensei! First time I countered a blow with that power I sent Sensei flying onto his back. That cost me when Sensei countered with one of Diamondbacks own elemental attacks. Turns out Sensei doesn’t need to bite to use the paralytic venom, he can forcibly secrete it on his hands. One nasty slap to the face and my head went numb. Before I knew it, I had lost control over my sense of direction and toppled. I need to look into getting a dragon with paralysis.

After managing control for more than ten minutes without effort we also found that now I can reattempt fusion after a cooldown of five minutes without action and twenty minutes after hitting my limit of fighting. Its great progress and Ian-Sensei is very impressed! As a reward and an early test, he took me on an expedition to the next part of Astera; the Guiding Lands.

We got there riding Wingdrakes, lesser dragons that have been trained to give Dragonsouls a lift from location to location in exchange for food and a safe place to roost. It was… terrifying at first. Held by a harness and a cable to the dragon’s own harness. But it was also incredible to see the world like that, I definitely need to get a dragon that can fly. After what seemed like both an eternity and an instant (but was only about fifteen minutes) we arrived at a camp. The camp was concealed in a mountain of rock; a slight opening on the top leading to a shaft and with a slit of rock for the exit on the ground. Ian-Sensei said this was because the Guiding Lands acts as a natural dragon nursery. Monitored and protected by members of the Order against fully grown dragons or dragons who weren’t parents. However, these dragons were raised as naturally as possible and therefore, were feral and often aggressive towards Dragonsouls and their dragon partners. So, the camps had to be hidden and all but impossible for dragons to enter so the camps would remain undisturbed.

Ian wanted to show me the Guiding Lands, but my mother had gotten us to agree to a curfew. As we were about to head out, the alarm on my watch went off. We agreed we’d do the tour first thing tomorrow! I can’t wait!

Day 64

Yesterday definetly didn’t go to plan! A day spent in the Guiding Lands with a hangry tyrannosaurus dragon on one side and a hurt and an even more angry fledgling ‘Bird Wyvern’ dragon with me in a tight space! I’m so glad the day before was Friday.

After classes I found a quiet street and signaled Chedders to open the way to Astera. Met with Sensei and we flew down to the Guiding Lands. The tour started out fine, it was exciting to walk through there with my eyes and ears open to every sight and sound. It felt like I was in a lost world (which I was) somewhere in the jungle, Sensei explained that the Guiding lands was First Wyverian Hycuup’s next step for Astera, a microcosm of places dragons could be found. Several biomes that met together in the middle, none large enough to be the dominant biome but large enough for each species to live. We were just starting to make it out of the ‘ancient forest’ area and arrive at a place where the desert biome met and mingled. That’s when Sensei held up a hand as he had a few times. Before, this was to point out several forms of passive life like the Aptonoth (prey species that looks like a dinosaur) and even a herbivorous species of dragon known as a Amazonian Pukei-Pukei (Bird Wyvern, uses its long tongue and plate teeth to eats nuts and other plant fodder, also ingests poison to later spit at predators as a defense measure). It reminded me of a bird, mixed with a frog because of the eyes and the tongue.

_I’m getting off topic… right,_ Sensei held his hand up to stall me and Nariko. He was looking down at the trail and when I looked, I saw a massive footprint. Three enormous toes poked out from the heel, it reminded me of a dinosaur footprint I saw at a museum once. Ian had no amusing facts to say, he was quiet and Diamondback had manifested, his hair was standing on end. He knelt down by the print, it led back the way we came. He withdrew a knife from a sheath on his back, which I then noticed, was part of a larger belt of tools and pockets. He poked at a lump in the footprint and after examining it, he took out a cylinder from his belt and scraped the sample inside. A minute later Chedders suddenly popped up from a hole nearby, his quirk in action. The cat moved frantically towards us. When Chedders got close he made one long, low meow. Sensei turned visibly pale and said two words in response, I later learned he was effectively repeating Chedders ver baetim: _“Savage Deviljho.”_

As if summoned by its name, we all heard a thud from behind and I felt myself instinctively want to run and freeze at the same time. I settled for following Sensei and Chedders gaze to behind me. What I saw terrified me to my soul. It was massive! Eleven to twelve meters tall and it seemed to be hunched low. Dark green, face covered in teeth, sharp bristling knots of what may have been MORE TEETH growing on its chin, and scars… lots of scars. Two comparatively small, beady yellow eyes stared at us. Tree trunk legs held it aloft but what may have been most scary was the sound it made. Seemingly as it breathed, it made thundering sound in its throat. I could feel the air vibrate. Then it roared and a cloud of black smoke and dark red lightening started billowing out of its mouth.

The sound was loud enough to drive my hands to my ears, desperate to protect them from popping from the force. When it finally stopped, it started pounding towards us. It seemed so slow, almost leisurely, but it covered so much ground with each stride. Before I knew what to even do or what to ask, Sensei grabbed me by the shoulders and said one word: “Run!” Then Sensei shoved me before moving to intercept the dragon!

I didn’t understand what this dragon was or why it scared even Sensei, a man who had tamed an Elder Dragon, until I saw him full body manifest Banshee Mara mid charge. His entire body became covered in a light swallowing body suit, once close enough he held his hands out and two large orbs of water appeared in each. He stopped and lobbed them like grenades, one after the other. When they struck the charging dragon they burst with a force like an actual explosive and the water made a sizzling sound where it touched the dragon’s skin. After two more strikes I actually saw steam billowing from the dragon’s face. It kept coming.

Whatever this thing was, it was taking repeated strikes of pressurized water at scalding hot temperatures and not even flinching. After another barrage and then being two strides from Sensei, it threw itself through the air, it didn’t lunge or rear its head before striking, it jumped with both legs and threw itself head first and mouth wide at Ian Sensei with the rest of its massive body behind it! Ian quickly evaded with a burst of water propelling himself to the left and out of the way. The dragon’s mouth followed him but its body kept going, hitting the ground with a bone rattling thud and role. I blinked, one moment my eyes were closed, and when they opened again the damn thing was back on its feet… and looking at me.

In the space it took to realize that, it took a step forward and made a wheezing inhale. I felt myself start to stumble back when it moved, almost immediately I felt a force hit me. Suddenly a sound like electricity, breaking glass, and the roar of a wildfire filled my ears. I had been hit so hard I had been flung far to my left. I looked and saw something that horrified me. Where I had been standing was Ian-Sensei, has body was wreathed in the black smoke and the red lightening flickered and popped on his body. He wasn’t moving. Then he disappeared, with Chedders taking his place. I looked at Chedders and I swear I didn’t need to know ‘Lynian’ to understand his next utterance. _“RUN BOY!”_

In the next moment I had no more room to think, I ran. Looking back, I think the only thing that saved me was Nariko giving me enough power without taking control for herself. I think she was too scared to do so. But I definitely changed without thinking, my legs grew and shifted to grow full of powerful muscle. The strides I made ate up ground and thankfully I didn’t lose balance as I tore up the ground beneath me. Even still, the ‘Deviljho’ was right behind me. The ground shook, the air vibrated with that deep rumble. I took a trail I didn’t recognize but it led uphill and I desperately hoped I would gain ground on it and get away from my pursuer. No such luck, as Nariko’s empathic warning told me that the Deviljho was gaining. Then I saw my escape, another cleft in the rock just large enough to fit through but would leave Deviljho on the other side. I put every last once of strength into my sprint and dived for the hole. It surprised me when my jump lifted me about a meter off the ground and forward another two and right to the opening of the slot. I didn’t stop to think, I scrambled through until I was on the other side and able to put another few steps from the entrance.

I looked back to see Deviljho staring back through the slot. Then the damnable thing tried gnawing on the slot, grinding its teeth and breaking bits of rock away, I saw it chewing its way in to my shelter and so I sought an exit. There was none, I saw in a massive bowl of rock with one entrance high above in the ceiling. I thought about climbing and jumping out when a familiar sound reminded me that danger lay closer than I thought. I jumped forward and out of the way of the entrance before lightening laced black smoke poured through the gap. The blast lasted about a second, with some smoke lingering in the aftermath, but thankfully it didn’t travel far from the line it followed and dissipated fairly quickly as it traveled from the epicenter. A narrow line of dangerous element infused smoke that could paralyze whatever was struck. All the same, I don’t want to be partners with a Deviljho I think.

I looked back to the entrance and heard more growling and rocks grinding against teeth, but it seemed to sound more frustrated and unsuccessful than I feared. I hoped Deviljhos were uncreative and impatient, and would leave soon. Or hopefully Draesari-Sensei would return with reinforcements! At the time I desperately hoped Sensei was okay (he was, the elderseal in dragonblight that Deviljho channeled locked up Banshee-Mara but Banshee-Mara’s body armor absorbed the damage. But until it wore off, Sensei was stuck in place). As the terror slowly dimmed, I looked to my body and saw the changes. The shift had extended from my hands to my arms, resulting in several rows of ridged plates growing up my forearm, knotting at my elbow with plume of white fur growing from it and forming cover over the growth of another line of ridged plates to my shoulder. My feet had grown out (destroying my shoes in the process) and had become beclawed paws with another line of ridged plates that grew from my ankle to my knee, ending in a spike growing from each kneecap. In any intervening space not covered by fur, plate, or claw, turquoise blue scales grew in abundance. The shift hadn’t appeared to have reached my chest and my face ‘felt’ normal. At the time I wasn’t sure how I wasn’t losing control or feeling terrible strain from the effort of holding the shift where it was. Thinking on it, Ian-Sensei spoke of a ‘sweat spot’ where you and your dragon are most comfortable holding the balance.

But I wasn’t alone in that bowl of rock. I was pretty caught up with Deviljho at the entrance. A piercing and ear-bleeding shriek behind me reminded me to better check my surroundings. Spinning around I saw that the shadow of the bowl wasn’t just filled with shadows. Something glared at me with dark red eyes. I back-peddled, intent on not getting attacked for invading a dragon’s personal space as well as their nest. Bad enough I brought a massive predator to their doorstep. Another wheeze reminded me to stay out of the corridor and another leap back before the smoke cloud billowed through.

I didn’t bother complaining to Deviljho about it, in case it made them try more frequently. Instead, I tried to see what I was sharing this space with. It obliged when the smoke dissipated a second time. Out of the dark and foliage tucked against the far wall emerged what looked like an enormous bird of prey. Except this bird lacked any features, instead covered in hard bands of large armored segments, spikes, and bristling white hair around its shoulders. Its head was massive compared to the rest of its body, and its beak was the largest part and looked capable of snapping my arm off or crushing my skull with one good peck. Not entirely black, the creature was varying shades of dark to light pale purple, with the spikes on its winged elbows and on its large club tail which swung menacingly behind. Still, overall he is fairly small. Smaller than Nariko currently is. I still can’t believe that I already have my second dragon.

_I'm getting ahead of myself._ We had a staredown while a Deviljho ground its teeth and blew smoke at us. I was concerned that in this stressful situation the dragon opposite us would finally go mad and attack. The constant staring, hissing, and shrieking didn’t help. But I didn’t give in to fear, I did my best to channel calm. Perhaps that’s what he picked up on. My calm in that situation. Maybe that’s why eventually he went back to his corner and while he didn’t stop the staring match, he did at least settle. Still, twenty-four hours before the rescue team found us and lured the Deviljho away. Then Chedders climbed in. Ian-Sensei appeared soon after, still armored but now his armored hood was gone, showing his face. I cried… it was stressful and then I finally knew my Sensei was okay…

Then after all of that I am ready to leave when I hear a child’s voice croak out behind me. It said… [tear drops stain the page] It said _“Don’t leave me.”_ It was Kuroi-Ya, my new charge. He’s a juvenile Yian Garuga. A rare species with an incredible number of traits and abilities but they are usually incredibly hostile and territorial. Kuroi-Ya though… he was a runt, he got pushed out of his nest by his siblings and had to find a place to live. He found the bowl when he was smaller and pushed himself to hunt whatever prey he could find. Turns out that Deviljho had made leaving his hideaway impossible and he’d been slowly starving. When I arrived, he had the strength to appear intimidating, but it was all a bluff. Kuroi-Ya is too young to spit fire or fly and at the time not strong enough to threaten a Dragonsoul. But instead of attack him, I sent out calming waves and left him be. So, he bonded to me. Now I have two young dragons who do NOT get along to take care of and about five months before the UA entrance exam… Maybe I should have listened to Ian-Sensei when he said taking on another dragon would be a bit too much responsibility.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another Dragon, this time its a personal favorite: Yian Garuga AKA: ULTRA MEGA ZELDA CHICKEN!
> 
> I really do enjoy hunting Yian Garugas, both the normal and the tempered variety. Less because they are distinctly challenging or that they give good rewards, but because I've always liked oddball designs. I find fighting Yian Garugas hectic in a fun way. In any case, Kuroi-Ya (Black Arrow) was my best attempt at a name. If my translation isn't appropriate or you know of a better translation, let me know.
> 
> As always, thank you for reading, feel free to leave kudos, comments, and I look forward to getting the next chapter out for you all!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Months pass, the exam awaits!

Izuku stood outside the entrance. It was massive, or at least, it felt massive. UA High School! The most prestigious hero school in the country and arguably in the world! Here he was, on their doorstep with a recommendation from Dragoon and a recent positive quirk test. A dream he long thought of as impossible, but he was here. Now having a recommendation was nothing like a commendation. Ryuko had offered but Midoriya wanted to get in through the entrance exam. _"I don't want to get in because you put me there. I want to prove it to everyone, even myself."_ She had smiled at that, so had Ian Sensei, Mom too. Izuku had known that his mother had been coddling him for a long time, not knowing how to help. Getting this chance, growing stronger these past few months, she had changed. She was proud and a bit less worried for him. A weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

Izuku had real difficulty keeping all his thoughts together and his emotions in check. For once he had brought the 'special bag' and inside were his two dragons. He could feel Nariko's excitement, like a live current it buzzed. The place Izuku had always dreamed of going. To her it was a place she was always curious about, she loved exploring new places and things. The last few months in the Guiding Lands she had been bounding from area to area, investigating everything. And when Izuku had taken the quirk test, she knew he had to stay in control for it. She stayed on her best behavior. Izuku had manifested her limbs and her hair color but no more, Izuku had learned to wear sandals if he was going to be manifesting traits so he didn't lose more shoes. The evaluation staff were surprised by how late 'his' quirk had come in. Ian Sensei had said the best thing was to tell half truths: _"I hadn't realized I had it until recently, and after figuring out I had no control over it, I started privately practicing until I did."_ The reviewers were displeased at the idea of such practice until Izuku explained the "shape-shifting" had very limited time limits and didn't stay for long periods of time until he had practiced for months, later getting help from someone with a similar quirk. Ian Sensei gave him a letter explaining his part in Izuku's quirk training. Finally, Ryuko made a personal appearance and vouched for Izuku, which settled the matter and that recommendation was forwarded to UA High School with his quirk information: 'Chimera'.

It had made the most sense, considering the two dragons Izuku had. With more practice and time spent with Kuroi-Ya, Izuku could manifest his poisonous spikes on his elbows and knuckles. Attempts at wing manifestation had been less successful. Without Kuroi-Ya's size, weight, and a great deal of his own traits; Izuku was too heavy and the wings could give him enough lift. Not only that, while Izuku had grown used to dealing with Nariko, Kuroi-Ya was temperamental and still cagey. He barely trusted Izuku and often fought for control. Izuku described it like getting into a shouting match in his own head, he never won. So Kuroi-Ya was staying with Ian Sensei until Izuku made a breakthrough with his training. It was just him and Nariko. "Deku... what the hell are you doing here?"

Nariko's mood shifted from happy excitement to flaring anger in a heartbeat. Izuku had hoped Kacchan wouldn't notice him, that maybe he'd arrive late and not be in his exam group. _Thanks life, I hate you too._ Izuku turned quickly and did his best to put up a polite smile. At least he tried, but the look of annoyance on Kacchan's face got worse as Kacchan seemed to realize he wasn't mistaken on the identity of his target. "Hello, Kacchan. I don't suppose you heard this yet. I have a quirk! I just needed to figure out how to unlock it! I got accepted to UA's entrance exam!" Izuku could see his words stoking Kacchan's anger, his face getting more twisted, but he couldn't stop the nervous surge of words. "So, you were hiding it then... what's your quirk? Show me..." Kacchan stepped in and Izuku could tell it was all an invitation to fight. Izuku wasn't interested, his control had gotten better but the risk of losing control right now...

_"All participants for the UA entrance exam, please make your way in. We will be meeting in auditorium 2. Repeat, all participants please-"_ Kacchan seemed distracted by the final call, enough for Izuku to take a step back and give Kacchan space. The tension started to leave him. Kacchan gave Izuku one last look before sneering out one last time, "See you inside Deku..." Another moment and Kacchan was looking away, towards the main building. Izuku blinked and followed. He felt, oddly calm, like Kacchan wasn't the terror he once was. Perhaps months of spending time with dragons... made Kacchan seem less threatening...

** One introduction, written exam, and physical exam briefing later **

_This is it, the physical exam. However I may have done on the written exam, I have to pass here to earn a place at UA High School. As tense or as tough as it may be, I can't lose control here. Not after all the hard work and what Sensei and Dragoon did for me!_ "Ummm, excuse me? What are you saying?" The question snapped Izuku out of his thoughts, looking at him in a confused manner was a girl. "Was I muttering?" She nodded with something like sympathy on her puzzled face. Izuku sighed before apologizing, "sometimes I get so caught up in my own head I start getting chatty and it comes out..." She hadn't stopped looking perplexed but she started to smile, then she croaked... like a frog. Izuku blinked before studying her a bit more closely. "Hunh, judging by your appearance... frog mutagenic quirk?" The girl blinked and stiffened up, "yes, how'd you guess?" Izuku shrugged before smiling back, "Your appearance and certain characteristics, I'm pretty good at observations." The girl put a finger to her chin before nodding and smiling back. "My name's Asui Tsuyu, your welcome to call me Tsuyu." Izuku smile got bigger, "I'm Midoriya Izuku, nice to meet you. My quirk is-" _"Attention, exam group 3 to the training area entrance. The Physical Exam is about to begin! Get ready People!"_ Present Mike's voice came booming over the intercom, cutting off Izuku. "Nice meeting you Midoriya, good luck." Tsuyu waved as she went. Pretty quickly Izuku lost her in the crowds.

Izuku had never been one for forcing his way through a crowd so he regrettably found himself at the back of the crowd as it clustered around the entrance. Present Mike's voice came across the intercom again wishing them all good luck before starting the count, alternating between Japanese and English as he went. _"Ten,_ _nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one! PLUS ULTRA!"_ Izuku reached out for Nariko, and charged.

** Meanwhile in the Control Tower **

Principal Nezu sat in a small high chair beside All Might. The setup allowing Nezu to sit equal in height to the new teacher. It had come as quite a surprise when All Might had requested a meeting to discuss taking up teaching at UA High School. More so when he revealed he'd found a successor in one of the students. Mirio Togata was an interesting choice, but it felt like one that didn't quite fit. He already had the makings of a great hero, without One for All. But the decision had already been made and Mirio had consented. It was a smart move for All Might though, a good transition for his health and future. He had no reason to complain, so why did he feel like doing so, months after the fact? A problem for another day, today was a day for watching out for new students and there had already been a few eye catchers. Perhaps Aizawa might keep a full class this year! He made one last review of exam group 3 and its participants, a few were already ear marked thanks to their quirks, others for commendations. One in particular had truly gotten Nezu's attention. Midoriya Izuku, listed as quirkless until two months ago. Making a marked transition of physical characteristics through his last year of middle school and even being noted and recommended for UA by Tatsuma Ryuko. Nezu knew Ryuko, she was pretty soft spoken for a hero. For Midoriya to receive her recommendation was noteworthy, nothing as strong as a commendation, but it merited attention. Nezu felt himself smile in his seat as Yamada called the count for Midoriya's group. _This should be interesting._

** Back on the ground floor **

Izuku could feel it, feel every electrical signal around him. He reveled in the power. After a few moments of anxiety, caught in the crush. He heard Nariko in his mind, _"Empty space ahead, leap through and away! Let us hunt!"_ Izuku could feel his muscles in his shape shifted legs tighten. He waited until the space above was clear, then he launched himself. The wind pressure brought tears to his eyes. _'Notes for future hero costume: goggles!'_ But the stinging in his eyes was worth it. When he blinked them clear he was ahead of the crowd. As he landed he looked back to see the frontrunners were staring and it had caused a pileup on one side. It didn't last though, barreling ahead on a barrage of explosions was- **"DEKU!"** Izuku decided he wasn't staying put long enough to learn what Kacchan thought of his quirk. Looking ahead he already caught sight of some one pointers. Izuku smiled and flexed his hands. _"I always wondered how your claws would do against machines Nariko, time to find out."_ Nariko replied with a growl in his mind. 

Barely a minute in and Nezu could see what had caught Ryuko's attention. The boy's quirk resembled hers, perhaps it was partly to do with a sense of solidarity with a being of great similarity. Midoriya tore ahead of the others with a few fast moving and strong contenders just behind. They tore through the outlier of one pointers with gusto. Bakugo's explosions throwing them about and tearing a few limbs off, _will likely need tutelige on quirk control in real encounters._ Iida Tenya was pummeling one pointers with kicks and punches, _great speed and endurance but its taking many blows to take down a single one. Needs to learn patience and self control to better direct his attacks, he's compensating for it with repetitive strikes for less gain._ Also in the lead was the frog quirk girl Asui Tsuyu, leaping onto targets before kicking them with enough force to send them flying! _Good control, smart placement of strikes, seems to be less keen on using her tongue , would be good for pulling targets to her or pulling off balance at least. Confidence issues?_ But far and ahead of them was Midoriya. He'd jumped ahead of the crowd and others seemed inspired to follow. With them at his back he tore into the targets in front of him. He seemed to have good situational awareness, striking first at unengaged targets before striking at distracted ones. More than once he'd leapt at a one pointer moving to attack his fellow exam members from a flank. Yet he was not without flaws either, _his reaction times and awareness are surprisingly high, but he throws himself at them like an animal. His strikes are savage and often redundant. He severs limbs and heads just because the target is in its death throws. He is a danger to himself and his target, he'll need more than just advice on control. Perhaps Hound Dog can help curb his lethal instincts._ Despite their flaws, they and many other participants were showing they were very capable fighters. Minutes in and Midoriya was in the top three for take down points. Soon though, it would be time to see who scored the most savior points. Nezu smiled again in anticipation.

Izuku's heart was racing, he'd never felt this way! He'd been excited before, many times. But this was something else, this was more than just happiness or excitement or anxiety. This was _euphoria!_ This was their power! He could feel it all! Every jarring impact, every cut in metal and plastic, every moment running down another robot. He had stopped counting, he didn't remember what number he had last recorded, he didn't care! He had come further than he had ever believed! He had power, power to rival any! No robot or _Intruder_ could match them! This was their territory now! They'd start with _every one of these hard shelled_ _creatures, then any other who questioned their right to exist here! THIS IS **OUR TERRITORY NOW!**_ Izuku had lost control. He wasn't aware, his thoughts had blurred with Nariko's own. This was the danger, it wasn't that the dragon consumed your thoughts and buried you in a dark corner of your mind. It was that you forgot what it was to share a mind with another being who's emotions ran parallel to your own. Izuku hadn't manifested any more noticeable changes, not in this havoc. But his eyes had changed, they had become turquoise and slitted. Small pits formed in his cheeks, blending in with his freckles, allowing him the ability to sense ions. And small spiraling horns had started to bud on his forehead, just inside his hairline. If he was still aware, he likely would have stopped when an ion-charged slap sent a three pointer into the first floor of a building seven meters away with a thunderclap. Everyone else noticed when Izuku started glowing, wreathed in motes of blue lights and flickering electricity. His hair standing on end and a layer of heat haze caused the current to sway.

Then their attention was taken by another source, the arrival of the Zero Pointer. Somehow it had gotten behind them. Looming large as it rolled into the street from the intersection it emerged from. It seemed to take a moment to look at the carnage before a deep, low, and unmistakably angry cry shook the street. Most everyone took one look and started running. Everyone except a girl with brown hair and eyes. Uraraka Ochaco stumbled as the machine ground its way forward on its massive treds. Sick from quirk usage and knocked down by falling debris. She looked up at the Zero Pointer. It didn't seem to be looking at her, intent on chasing the crowd and grinding her into paste. She felt panic stir in her and tried to get out of the way, thats when she noticed her legs were pinned. A slab of concrete had fallen on her legs, the surge of pain hit her and it only fueled her panic. She tried to get her quirk working again to lift the slab off her but she couldn't muster the strength. The Zero Pointer rolled on, Uraraka looked on in tears as it kept coming, the treds crushing loose concrete and robots into nothing. Realization hit her, _I... I'm going to die... my parents... I'm sorry!_ She shut her eyes.

She opened them again when a howl tore through the air. She blinked and looked back down the street where the crowd had fled. Something like a wolf was running towards her. As it got closer she noticed it wasn't a wolf, it was something... more. The forearms were familiar, as was the bristling white hair. She thought back to that boy who took the lead, the one with the claws. _Is that... its him! He's coming to save me!_ Relief and hope filled Uraraka, she hadn't been forgotten or left behind! Help was coming! She flinched and turned as the Zero Pointer made that roar again as Uraraka's savior rapidly closed the distance. As it grew closer, Uraraka noted something. _Its... getting bigger... like its the size of a truck!_ Before she could note much more, the wolf being was obscured by a growing cloud of blue lights until, the wolf stopped and planted its feet before rearing back and howling. Uraraka was blinded as mid howl, a lightening bolt earthed itself in its body. When she was able to see again, the wolf was standing its ground, back arched and head forward. The Zero Pointer stared it down. Finally, the wolf made the first move. It drew its right paw across the ground in front of it, arching bolts flashing and lashing out at the ground as it made this gesture. Another moment of tension and then it rocketed into the air with a lunge. Uraraka followed it as it flew for the Zero Pointer, straight for its head. The Zero Pointer reared back, cringing away from the lightening wolf! Then Uraraka was blind and deaf, in the moment when the two collided.

In the control tower Nezu was standing and laughing. Midoriya had certainly pulled out all the stops! This was why Ryuko had recommended him. Even when he seemed to lose control, Midoriya had turned back to fight the Zero Pointer and save Uraraka Ochaco's life! Truly Midoriya had great potential! Everyone in the room was thrilled! All Might was awestruck, Aizawa was grinning, Kayama, Yamada, and even Vlad King were happily chattering with each other over him. Ishiyama, Snipe, and Echtoplasm were nodding in quiet approval, Maijima sighed but was still happy. After all, he was going to have to clean up the wreckage but seeing his work taken apart only gave him new ideas to make them better. Speaking of wreckage, the level of voltage necessary to create a violent electric field like that was in the gigajoule range! The force of the claw strike had blasted the front of the Zero Pointer's head to scattered pieces and had ripped the metal surrounding it back. Even the back of its head had been blown out and charred. The Zero Pointer was very much destroyed and Uraraka was safe. Nezu watched as Midoriya landed on the ground after being thrown back by the blastwave, still in this new form of his. _Chimera, that was the name of his quirk... I wonder if... No, she doesn't strike me as the type. Then again..._

Uraraka had finally gotten her quirk back under control and had lifted the concrete slab off her legs. She had gotten lucky in the end, it had landed in such a way that it had pinned her but not crushed her legs. The panic had likely heightened the pain, making the bruising she had gotten feel worse than it actually was. She walked over to the wolf on shaky legs. Something in the back of her mind told her to stay away, that she approached danger. She pushed past it, _I'm probably still shaken up and I don't know them. I'm sure their nice and I should definitely thank them for the rescue._ She got closer until she was close enough to touch. The wolf had been panting and shaking, probably feeling pretty shaken up facing the Zero Pointer down, might have exhausted themselves taking it out. "Hello? Thank you fo-" Her rescuer tensed, lifted its back feet, and pivoted its body around to face her, its hind legs and tail coming down with a heavy slam. Uraraka was frozen, the fear she had felt before was screaming at her now. She locked eyes with it and it stared right back. Slow, low breaths, a sound like a crane engine in its throat. She realized it was growling at her. Every instinct told her to either get down and look small or slowly back away. _Why, are you angry at me? What did I do?_

Izuku stared down the intruder. Weak, small, _prey._ Izuku felt his stomach churn in hunger, they had used a great deal of energy taking out the robots and their alpha. But something stopped them from flattening her and eating her. _Why not eat her?_ **She's not food, shes a person!** _She is an intruder, she fights for this territory. If not eat her then just kill her so she cannot contest us._ **Thats not why we are here Nariko, thats not why I am here! This isn't about territory. This was a test to be a student at UA. Shes here for the same reason. She isn't prey, shes an ally!** _We cannot tolerate every single human, certainly not ones like this. They are the reason why dragons must hide to survive, why the special ones protect us. She is a threat! She should DIE!_

The wolf before her had been staring her down for what felt like an eternity, before it started fidgeting. It started blinking, rapidly. Then one eye changed, it went from turquoise to green. One green eye with a round pupil and the other blue and reptilian. Uraraka couldn't make sense of it. Then the wolf started moaning and closed its eyes hard. Its claws dug trenches in the ground and it curled in on itself. Uraraka felt the fear start to fade, replaced with worry. "Hey, are you ok? I... I don't know whats going on... Can I help at all?" Uraraka reached out and touched one of the forearms. She blinked as she felt herself slowly fall, what had happened? She looked down at her chest to see her clothes ripped in a diagonal line and a trio of claw marks running up her belly, shallow but strangely numb. Her eyes slowly focused back to the wolf and saw that it had thrown its arm up, as if to fling her away, the claws catching her as they went. _Oh, I think I shouldn't have done that..._ She didn't feel herself hit the ground.

**What did you do? Nariko what did you do!?!?** _It touched us! No telling what harm it intended!_ **No, no no! We have to... have to...** Izuku was quickly slipping back under in his panic, his fear pushing Nariko to flee for them both.

The call went out that the Exam was over, Nezu tasked Echtoplasm to get Uraraka to Shuzenji in the medical center. Ectoplasm would also help escort the remaining exam takers out of the training site. Aizawa, Yamada, Kayama, and Ishiyama on the other hand were headed down to the floor to isolate and them neutralize Midoriya. _Such a shame, I suppose this puts Midoriya's performance into question. How much was him in control of his quirk and how much was his quirk in control of him? But we can't deny him. He has the recommendation of a pro hero, he performed well, and he saved a life. I would like to believe he meant to do that. That this is a_ _misunderstanding. I really do hope he doesn't make this untenable._

Tracking him had been easy, the force of his paw strides and the plethora of cameras made escape impossible. Chasing him down on the other hand was a different matter. Aizawa had to admit, Midoriya was mobile in this form. You'd think such an awkward alternate form would be disorientating to someone with only a few months experience and no idea on the layout of the arena. Try as they might, they couldn't chase him into a corner where he couldn't leap out or bulldoze through a wall and keep going. Worse still, he always seemed to know where they were. Aizawa was no slouch at stealth but Midoriya was giving him a run for his money. Even when Aizawan ran point to flush out Midoriya, he'd stay just out of sight. More often he found a gap in their net before bolting through. They'd tried creating nooses with Cementoss' quirk but Midoriya would either jump over it or smash through it. Their saving grace was that he seemed to be getting tired. More and more, Midoriya was trying to find a dark, quiet bolthole in the fake city to hide in. Yet every time they waited before closing in, the moment they got too close, Midoriya would take off again. "This is getting real frustrating! Its like that game where you have to pen in a cat, every time you get close it finds a hole to dart through!" Aizawa didn't reply to his friend. Midoriya had pushed him from being concerned to being thoroughly annoyed. Then as if sensing his annoyance, Midoriya finally gave up the ghost. He attempted to bolt down a narrow alleyway when Cementoss blocked it with wall. He charged it, but instead of blasting through with a crash of thunder and debris. He rebounded off it with a dull thud. Cornered, he wailed and scratched at the wall with his claws before turning. Aizawa and Yamada were standing above while Kayama was blocking the way out. Cementoss waited behind the wall, just in case. Midoriya turned and planted his tail to the wall, staring down Kayama and the way out. "Come on Midoriya, you've given us enough trouble, don't make this worse. I imagine your scared, you hurt that girl and I assume by accident. That's ok, shes fine, and plenty of us have lost control of our quirks before. Just calm down ok?" Midoriya's response was to growl and start shaking. "Kayama, he may not be sensible as he is. Knock him out." Kayama tutted before she replied, "He's scared Aizawa. He's backed in a corner and exhausted. Besides, whats he going to..." She stalled as a swarm of blue motes of light flew to Midoriya's body. Everyone had seen the light show and had an idea what it meant. "Ah hell, sorry Midoriya. But naughty boys get punished." Kayama stepped closer before tearing the layer of her costume, sleep inducing fumes flowing out.

But Midoriya showed no signs of falling asleep. The motes kept coming and Midoriya's hair had started to shimmer again. "Damn, you must have some real insomnia issues. Step back boys." At her warning she increased the area of revealed skin and a cloud of fumes poured out. Aizawa and Yamada stepped back from where they had been standing, not eager to get doused. Midnight peered through the fumes and saw a horrifying sight. The motes had stopped but Midoriya was still standing. He was also glowing again. "You've got to be kidding me..." Kayama was starting to get nervous, she hadn't known many with this level of resistance. That nervousness changed to panic as Midoriya tensed up right before flinging himself at her. Angled awkwardly in the alley, it was more of a shuffling charge than a lunge, bulling straight through her cloud of sleep gas. "Are you KIDDING ME!?!?!?" For once in a long time, Midnight felt fear. Old primordial fear as something akin to a tiger backed into a corner was now lashing out at her. She dove aside as Midoriya made one last loping stride in the tight space... and went sailing over her into the space behind her. She watched Midoriya make a few more lopes before finally collapsing. "You *huff* are a monster young man."

The teachers gathered around Midoriya, waiting for him to shape-shift back. That plan lasted all of one minute before the sound of deep rumbling breaths and involuntary motions made them realize Midoriya had to make a concentrated effort to switch back. "Are you kidding? Kid had a quirk like this and NEVER NOTICED!?!? How does that happen? How does that even work?" Yamada was less angry and more curious, Aizawa himself had to admit, as annoying as it is he was curious too. How far did this quirk go, and what would it take to help this kid get control over it? Then a sound made them all flinch. The deep intake of breath a waking person makes as they yawn awake. "No way, please tell me I don't have to douse him again." Even Ishiyama looked nervous as Midoriya start getting back up on his feet. Aizawa could feel his quirk going, the last thing they needed was Midoriya gaining more power and taking them on another run through the arena. But then Midoriya looked back over his shoulder at Aizawa. They locked eyes, and he stopped. They had met eyes a few times running from each other. Midoriya's eyes were turquoise and reptilian slits, except they weren't. Aizawa remembered his file; green eyes and normal pupils, the same eyes looking at him now with a different kind of fear, and despair. Aizawa released his quirk and held up a hand, signing to stand down. The others went back to being loose but ready. They needn't have bothered, Midoriya immediately started changing. Shrinking in the tight space of the alley, back to green hair and human skin. Steadily his appearance became human again. The only thing missing were his clothes...

"Can someone get me my spare clothes from my locker? I wasn't supposed to shape-shift that far..." Cementoss made a stall out of cement while everyone else looked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just gonna say this now... expect more wardrobe malfunctions until Midoriya figures out a solution. Why? Because reasons... 
> 
> Also, Dinoman. I'm sorry to disappoint but we already have Mr. Explosion. Its Bakugo and I'm pretty sure having two people with explosive punches would be kinda boring and make one redundant. So no Bracky. I tried man, but it always felt... bleh. Also this version of Midoriya is gonna be less punchy and more full body contact. Kicks, flips, elbows, knees. Just punching is so limited in a text based story. As for monster suggestions, I'm not above it, but it has to make sense. I'm not doing Fatalis. Period. I know he's infamous but Fatalis is a bit beyond my comfort zone to describe a fight with. I'm not doing anything on the scale of 'giant fug-off Elder Dragons' I think the biggest I'll get is Xeno Jiva but even that would be a stretch and right now, that's not in the cards.
> 
> Anyway I hope you all enjoy. Comment, leave Kudos, Bookmark. Its all appreciated.


	5. Hard Lessons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To those who have been waiting for more than three months for the next chapter, I AM SORRY. Short version is life went to hell and I've spent much of this time getting things back together.

It was another long day. Balancing paperwork for two important jobs along with patrols and a rogue giant quirk takes it out of you. Ryuko leaned back into her office chair and sighed, _the after-action is done, reports on recent criminal activity, and I've reviewed and given approval or denial to a half dozen requests for action by seekers among the radicals._ Thinking on this she realized she was meant to contact Draesari about Midoriya. She withdrew an iris card linked to one of his own and thought of speaking to him. Moments later his disembodied voice spoke out, "Ian here, go ahead." "Its Ryuko, how did Midoriya do," she asked in turn. She heard a low _hmmmm_ come through before he replied, "Haven't seen or spoken to him. He didn't come to practice after the test. Now I would normally have put that down to being tired but..." Ryuko knew Draesari didn't like to push the problems of others onto those who weren't close friends and the two had only developed a professional relationship with their shared interest in the young man. It was clear though that he knew something was wrong and didn't have a way to solve the issue.

"What's wrong Ian." It wasn't a question, it was a demand to know the truth. Ian hemmed again before deciding to answer, "Nariko is here with me, and she keeps saying Midoriya is really angry with her. Something happened at the entrance exam." Ryuko paused, she felt a mixture of things right in that moment. Regret for Midoriya, shame at his treatment of Nariko, and relief that whatever happened had not made the news... and that Midoriya learned a valuable lesson today, albeit a hard one. "I'll speak to the school and then check on him." Ian made a noise like protest in response, "He is my assigned pupil." "I am aware of the fact, but you are also on assignment right now." Ian didn't respond for several seconds at that, "How do you know that?" "I saw the report you made about needing a senior hunter to help with the Crimson Pukei-Pukei in the Andes, and I saw that they ordered you in." Ian paused again before answering, "I can still get Chedders to send a message. Ask Midoriya to meet me in Astera." Ryuko shook her head before remembering this was the equivalent of a phone call and not a vid-com like many heroes prefer. "Chedders can't enter domiciles without permission and Midoriya may not want to leave his house. I'll speak with him, you focus on your assignment." Ian hemmed again in frustration before giving an affirmative grumble. Ryuko checked the iris card and saw it was closed, Ian was gone. She hoped he would forgive her one day for lying to him.

_One across town flight later_

The worried look on Mrs. Midoriya's face confirmed that something had gone wrong. Despite Ryuko's fear she would be turned away she was instead calmly waved in. In minutes she was sitting at the dinner table with a cup of tea in her hands. "I don't know what happened. He came home in a rush. I could see he was distressed but he wouldn't tell me what happened, not a word. He looked at me and..." She didn't continue, instead she sighed into her own cup. It didn't sound good but neither of them knew what had happened. As an experienced hero Ryuko knew that the mind often turned to the worst when something had happened with no context. "If I may, I'm not worried about him making an impression. I fear that he thinks he went too far. Perhaps things got stressful and he lost control of Nariko. Its normal for inexperienced dragons to be overprotective and the dragonsouls often don't have the confidence to keep them focused." Ryuko said all this calmly and with a knowing smile. Thankfully, her words had the intended affect and Midoriya Inko seemed to calm down as well.

The conversation didn't resume for a while. Ryuko was content to sit in silence with Mrs. Midoriya, and she seemed happy just for the company. Finally, Izuku seemed to come out of his shell a bit. Ryuko turned slowly when she saw Inko stiffen at something over her shoulder. Izuku didn't look good, his eyes were red from tears and he even seemed to sport some leftover bruises on his forehead, possibly from slapping himself in the head hard enough. Ryuko didn't say anything, she did her best to remain neutral but what she really wanted to do was ask what happened and how she could help. He quietly walked to the table and sat himself beside his mother. She quietly put an arm around her son and pulled him close. He didn't resist and kept his eyes down. Ryuko kept her own eyes on his, the way they moved told her he was replying today, and trying to piece it together. 

"I lost control the moment I saw the first robot." His voice was raw as he spoke in a low tone. "It only got worse the longer I was there. Nariko kept finding more robots and I couldn't stop her. When the zero pointer appeared I was so afraid. She took full control then. While I was screaming in my own head she jumped right at it and destroyed it in one hit. At that point I was just along for the ride. I barely stopped her from killing another participant. And then we ran from the UA teachers until she was exhausted and I managed to get my head together and my hands on the figurative controls." He shut his eyes as fresh tears rolled down his cheeks. Ryuko was almost afraid he'd suffer from dehydration if he cried much more. Izuku's mother seemed to think the same as she quickly brought him a cup of water. He drank a little, then gulped down the whole cup. _What a weak whelp._ Ryuko cleared her throat and fought back the unkind words of her own partner in her head. "That is rather upsetting to hear. And while its been some time since my own days at school, I know a measure of your fear and pain." Izuku finally looked up from the table, his face held some sorrow but also surprise.

"You... I never heard of anything happening to you Dragoon-sensei. You... wait... you didn't attend UA Academy." Izuku's face grew more surprised as he remembered and quickly became curious. Ryuko smiled, she had few qualms about remembering the accidents of her youth. If she could use one to help sooth Izuku's mood and give him some perspective then all the better. "I didn't. I attended Ketsubutsu Academy. I was, and still am a bit, of a rebel among dragonsouls. I wanted to break the barrier and I thought becoming a hero would help me in that goal. But I was nervous to draw too much attention before becoming a pro with a good reputation. Ketsubutsu was less prestigious, less flamboyant, and their students spend less time in the spotlight. It felt like a good choice to me. It was there though that I learned many things about my partner." Izuku was staring hard at her, now fully intent. Suddenly he blinked and his face sank. "So... I guess I should ask if you would help get me a place at Ketsubutsu." Ryuko felt herself hit a figurative wall as her story derailed itself. With rather unseemly haste she threw arms up before replying, "No! No thats not my point! I passed the entry for Ketsubutsu without incident but at a major event between first year hero classes I accidently poisoned half my class and most of the opposing class!" _I'm sure that will help with the whelp's confidence._

Izuku felt himself jump in his chair as Dragoon-sensei let slip this proverbial elephant into the room. The look on her own face was one of sudden mortification. Izuku guessed she had said more than she meant to when she had started her story. Silence dominated the room. Remarkably, Izuku was the first to speak again. "I can pretend I didn't hear that last part." Dragoon-sensei actually looked thankful for a moment before frowning in resignation. "It was more than I meant to say on that particular incident, but there's no taking it back now." She sighed and Izuku waited. In the interim his mother went to work on dinner, perhaps to act like she wasn't listening. Dragoon-sensei finally seemed to gather herself with a deep breath and resumed her tale. "During a battle trial involving my class and another hero course I discovered a dangerous side affect of letting my dragon partner fully manifest. At the time he hadn't been identified. Like Nariko, he was an egg from the lost. Orphan eggs kept in a form of stasis until a dragonsoul is bonded to it. He is my first and only dragon. Because I was cursed. I became bonded to an elder dragon species thought extinct. One that had been expressly hunted by the order itself because it endangered all other dragons. This egg had somehow found its way into the Horde of Lost Eggs and had been forgotten. My dragon is one of, if not, the last living example of Shagaru Magala. An elder dragon species that weaponized a strain of the rabies virus and created the dragon frenzy virus. A virus that also affects and can lethally harm humans alongside dragons." 

She had told this to a few other dragonsouls. People who she trusted. Almost all of them became horrified of her and avoided her for days. The Frenzy virus was a well known and infamous disease even today with both its and the elder dragon responsible for it extinct. Thanks in part by the legends of dragons species decimated or extinct because of it. Most realized their folly in a day or two and were embarrassed of their irrational fear. Some didn't. Ryuko didn't blame any of them, she had lived with first hand experience of what the virus could do to people since that day. She had spent weeks afraid of ever letting others near her or her partner Eclipse. Eclipse had never taken it well and had grown resentful of something that wasn't his fault. But with time Ryuko learned that as long as Eclipse never manifested more than half way his natural adaptation of molting his skin would occur, meaning the virus couldn't be released. When he matured from Gore Magala to his adult form of Shagaru Magala she could manifest seventy percent safely, the form the public see today. But they both chaffed at this restriction. It meant she had inadvertently partnered with the wrong dragon to show the world. She could never be the true dragon hero. No one else among the order was brave enough to break convention.

She looked at her new best hope. A young man, one among millions, born with the gift of being a dragonsoul. Midoriya Izuku was her best hope now. She felt terribly guilty at the thought. To place so much on his shoulders was too cruel. She couldn't tell him. Not before he was ready, if he was ever ready. Today may have been the end of this new dream. She looked was did not see, too caught up on her own doubts. She pushed it away and blinked her eyes until they focused on him. The look on Izuku's face wasn't what Ryuko was expecting. She expected fear, distrust, disgust, pity. Looks all the others had given her. Instead he looked thoughtful, there was a bit of pity, but more than anything he seemed to be thinking about what she'd told him. "What happened to the students," was all he asked. For a moment she was surprised, then she smiled. "The trial was canceled, and while they ended up in the nurse's office for the rest of the day. They all forgave me. I'm sure that other participant will forgive you too."

_Two days later_

_"Principal Nezu, your two-o-clock appointment is here to see you."_ Nezu looked up from his desk. He had lost track of time again, always a risk when something had his full and undivided attention. He quickly put the files he was reviewing back into their folders and tucked them in a drawer. He made one last sweep of the room with his eyes for loose papers and, when satisfied he hadn't left any out, responded back to the front desk secretary. "Thank you, send them up." Several minutes later and Tatsuma Ryuko entered the room. Nezu smiled as he waved her to enter. "Ah, Ms. Tatsuma. Or would you prefer Dragoon?" Tatsuma smiled in return and bowed before responding. "Tatsuma is fine Principal Nezu." Nezu laughed for a moment. "Far be it from me to hold honorifics for myself here. You may call me Nezu. Now, please. Sit, and tell me more about why you wished to speak with me." 

Tatsuma took the offered seat and for a moment Nezu sensed something about her posture. For a moment she was sitting stiffly, as if uncomfortable, then she blinked at him and relaxed. _Discomfort? Curious._ There was a pause while Tatsuma appeared to gather her thoughts. "I come with... concerns." Nezu had a feeling this was where the conversation would turn but not so soon. She was still trying to be polite but it she had already given away the fact that she was here for a single reason. Nezu remained silent. "I spoke with Midoriya Izuku after the entrance exam. He's afraid he's not getting into UA High after what happened." Nezu held up a hand before replying, "I'm sorry but the participants are still being reviewed and its policy not to discuss the results with those outside the staff." Tatsuma didn't seem put off as she smiled and nodded back. "I understand that and that's not what has me concerned." Nezu waited for her to continue. "To be perfectly frank... I don't want him to be accepted here. We both know that this school always attracts attention. He doesn't need it. He would do better at a school that will push him to excel without putting him on display for everyone to see." Nezu could see it. During the 'interview' they had with him in the wake of the exam he had displayed extreme duress. Gentle questioning caused him to flinch and he seemed afraid to answer. _Like a beaten dog._ "But its his choice, not mine. But please, just because he's a late bloomer, don't treat him like a weakling. He's stronger and smarter than many I have had the pleasure of meeting. He will do great things. It won't happen overnight. And we both know the flaws this school has."

Nezu knew what she referred to, a great many flaws in all. "You are wise enough to know that no system is perfect Ms. Tatsuma." She nodded in concession to his point, but resumed her own point immediately. "He has immense promise, I'm afraid he'll be passed over and left behind because of his late start. So please-" Nezu cut her off by standing up on his chair and solemnly holding his hand up for an oath. "I swear Ms. Tatsuma, no student at UA is dismissed just because they do not excel. Someone like Midoriya Izuku least of all. As long as he puts forth his own best effort, he will have a place at UA."

_Their meeting ended soon after and two weeks later everyone was celebrating Midoriya Izuku's admission to UA._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My life being upended by Corona (not sick but it has destroyed my social life and many plans for the future!), my muse being dead for much of these three months and a bit more, and this chapter going through two complete rewrites and 7 damn revisions! This should not have taken this long, I feel terrible for leaving you all in the lurch this long, and it still doesn't feel like I nailed this chapter down correctly. But it needs to get done so get it done I did. Comments, kudos, and bookmarks and very much appreciated. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go dust off the other works and get updates back to a reasonable length of time.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A temporary solution is found for Izuku's rampant wardrobe malfunctions resulting in his first excursion to the Astera Hub, Aizawa throws a curveball on orientation, Enter the Dragon take 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is brought to you by insomnia! Because my brain is at it's most creative at 1 in the morning! Why? Heck if I know.

Sleep had been harder to come by the closer Orientation came. Izuku had a few ideas for the reasons. Anxiety over the entrance exam, anxiety over class perception from his teacher and fellow students, stress over keeping control when the time came to practice with his 'shapeshifting' quirk. Mostly it was the of the most embarrassing part of fully losing control at the entrance exam: the wardrobe malfunction. When he mentioned this happening to Ian Sensei and Tatsuma during a training session, Tatsuma had quickly left and returned with a tape measure. She had taken his numbers as if for a suite. As it turns out she wasn't a tailor (never finished her apprenticeship when he rebeled to be a hero), but she knew someone who was.

It was Saturday, the day before orientation, when Tatsuma called ahead to the Midoriya household. Izuku waited outside his apartment for Tatsuma. A minute later a Palico appeared and rushed over to him. This one was different from Chedders, a similar Calico pattern but with a bobtail and seemed unable to open its eyes. "Are you Tatsuma's Palico," Izuku asked. The Palico merely nodded and offered a paw. Izuku took it and felt the familiar sensation of of momentary vertigo followed by a _pop_ as time and space bent. Somewhere in the back of Izuku's mind it was still a novel experience to travel through a hole between dimensions, but right now he was more interested in looking at a whole new environment.

He was now standing in a space utterly foreign to him. He stood upon wood planks above seawater, ahead of him a massive wooden ship was used as the roof to a open air market. Tropical trees swayed in the wind while people dressed like fantasy adventures from a game worked. He noted people were studying him as well. Idle individuals dressed in armor with noticeable weapons stared and pointed at the stranger in their midst. The number of languages being spoken at once was disorientating and Izuku started to feel like it wasn't kind conversation by the hard looks and muttering tones. After a moment he felt a tug at his hand and looked down. The bob tail Palico was yanking on his hand and pointing ahead.

Looking up Izuku finally saw a friendly face coming towards him. Tatsuma was dressed in her hero outfit with her own familiar smile on her face. In moments she was standing in front of him and with a bow said, "Welcome to Astera proper, Midoriya Izuku. I'm sorry for the welcome, people here don't like the unfamiliar. You'll find a lot more friendly faces back on earth. Most of the radicals prefer it to being here in a simulation." She finished with a sneer at the nearest and loudest of the bystanders, an individual dressed in yellow and green hide that looked like they were fashioned into some form of camouflaged coat. The man held her gaze for a moment before walking away. She sighed before resuming, "come on. Your first dragon proof hero costume is waiting."

Of course Izuku had questions, but right now he was too busy staying on his feet while Tatsuma hauled him through the market crowd. While those outside it had kept their distance, the market goers and even some stall holders crowded them. Izuku caught snatches of Japanese from the crowd but it was lost in the chaos. A few grabbed at his t-shirt for some reason. Finally they reached the other end and Izuku looked back to see a few pursuers reluctant to follow. One giant flight of stairs later and they were standing outside a massive doorway to an even larger forge complex. Izuku could feel the heat blowing towards him from the doorway and a part of him didn't want to enter. Tatsuma still held a hand on his shoulder but the previous tension was gone. In fact she seemed to snatch her hand away when she realized she hadn't let go yet.

"Sorry, I don't want to linger. As long as you are dressed in those clothes people know your an outsider. That can attract a lot of bad attention." Izuku looked at Tatsuma in confusion and asked, "Why is that?" Tatsuma shook her head before answering, "You may not have noticed it yet, having been here for all of a few minutes, but no one is dressed like you. That's because nearly all of them have lived their whole lives here in Astera or at the Seliana Base. They've never seen a t-shirt or even met someone from the real world. Some are curious, most are taught to fear or hate the people who live there. They see you as the reason why they are forced to hide in an incomplete world." 

That was not the answer Izuku was expecting, looking around again he saw the same people from the market had followed them but were keeping their distance. He tried to appear friendly by waving, no one returned it. Izuku looked back to Tatsuma who was staring back, her face was a mix of frustration and pity. Without prompting she voiced her thoughts, "I used to be like them Izuku, utterly mystified and in awe of people from the real world. I was born here in Astera. Your world was a mythical place. Most are too afraid of the legends and horror stories surrounding it to see it for themselves." It was surprising to hear that people were afraid of him just for being born somewhere else. But as he thought about it, he remembered feeling a bit afraid himself when some of the Asterans had stared at him when he had arrived. He had felt out of place, so perhaps it wasn't so surprising.

Tatsuma sighed and looked back to the forge and then seemed to grow impatient. "Grace! I told you I'd be right back! You better not have disappeared," Tatsuma shouted into the forge. Another female voice answered back. Then a older woman with brown hair and dressed in a heavy leather apon and thick sooty dress and scandals walked out. She stopped right up in Tatsuma's face and stared long and hard which Tatsuma returned. Izuku had never seen this side of Tatsuma before. The two looked like they were an inch from fighting each other. Then in another moment Grace smiled and slapped Tatsuma on her bicep. "You weren't lying. You really did bring him here. Your granduncle won't like it." Grace spoke with an odd accent, the more Izuku looked, the more apparent it became that Grace wasn't ethnically Japanese despite some similarities. Tatsuma smiled back before replying, "and you owe me a glass of that famous french wine you smuggled in, _Mademoiselle_." 

Grace threw her head back in a chuckle before strutting up to Izuku. "Mmmmm, a bit shorter than your measurements made him out to be. That's fine, he'll get some extra use out of it as he grows." Tatsuma nodded as she replied, "yes that was the idea. Although I hope it'll still fit." Grace's mood seemed to flip, "BAH! My work is perfect! He'll fit!" And before anyone could respond she quickly stepped back inside. Izuku looked back to Tatsuma but she just shook her head with a smirk on her lips. "Grace may be a bit etcentric but she's good. I regret not finishing my apprenticeship with her at times." Izuku just nodded, understanding coming at last. A moment later and Grace returned with a long rectangular wooden crate like a footlocker slung under an arm. "As requested there is a guide on how to affix the buttons and ties the laces. Should stand out if there really is nothing like it back there." Without warning she handed it to Izuku and almost dropped it on his toes if he didn't catch it first. The crate was decently heavy though Izuku supposed it was the the container and not whatever was inside. Izuku had specified that he wanted it to be lightweight and flexible. Tatsuma and Grace entered into one more staredown but whatever was passing between them was a mystery to Izuku. A moment later Izuku was back outside his apartment with a case and a tailormade costume.

Ryuko was once again imposing on the Midoriya family. She was as curious about the costume as both Izuku and Inko were. Ryuko waitied with Inko in the kitchen, feeding little tidbits about Astera to Inko while Izuku tried changing into the costume. When he emerged he was of mixed opinion. "I feel more like a mix of a cosplayer and a hiker than a hero." Ryuko smiled because despite Izuku's opinion he did look rather dashing in her opinion. It was a bit classical in nature but it carried the features he had asked for. A combination of a freshly commissioned hunter's leather ensemble with a hood added, featuring short stitched triangular bunny ears, goggles resting on his forehead, a muffler around his neck with metal studs set to resemble a smiling set of teeth for his 'smile guard' idea. Besides that he carried a number of pouches for assorted extra gear, which Ryuko knew from personal experience, Izuku would find uses for. The underlayer was dyed a shade of green between turquoise and forest green while the leather vest, vambraces, and greaves were tanned leather. On his feet were his seemingly trademark red trainers.

Judging by the happy smile on Inko's face, she was pleased with the result as well. But when she said, "It looks great honey," Ryuko could hear something in her voice. Izuku didn't look convinced. "Maybe I can try your costume first and have this be the backup," Izuku said uncertainly. Ryuko looked between a now conflicted Izuku and a teary eyed Inko. _The whelp wants to discard your gift?_ Ryuko didn't respond to Eclipse, his acid tongued opinion of everyone else she came in contact with was constant. "You already bought a costume for him," Ryuko asked. Inko waved at Ryuko while she wiped away a tear. It was Izuku who responded instead, "Nariko discovered her making a costume based on some of my old sketches. She meant it as a surprise while I was at school." 

Izuku knew his words would hurt Tatsuma, she had ordered the costume so he would have one less thing to worry about at school. But she didn't know about the special effort his mother had made. In a way it was her contribution to Izuku's dream. It felt... wrong not to use the costume she had made specially for him. He also knew she would prefer him to wear Tatsuma's costume instead. It would be safer and deep down Izuku could feel it was right. It fit him well despite the room for future growth, and he felt exceptionally comfortable in it. But it still felt wrong in it's own way. "You don't need to do that Izuku. You should wear it." But Izuku wasn't really listening. He turned around and returned to his room. He'd at least try it on.

Izuku returned and once again was conflicted. The costume wasn't uncomfortable but it definitely didn't have the same quality to it's design. It felt snug in places and in a way the more longer ears and simplicity made it feel a bit childish. But that was alright. It was a prototype costume made by his mother in the span of a year as a gift. It didn't need to be better. Yet a traitorous part of him wanted to put Tatsuma's costume back on as well. He tried to bury that feeling as he asked, "How do I look?" His mother was smiling with even more tears in her eyes, managing a happy nod. Tatsuma was smiling too, but Izuku felt it was not strictly from approval, but her reply was what mattered most. "I think you look like a hero no matter which you choose. You aren't a hero because of a costume, a costume is heroic when worn by a true hero!" Izuku felt himself smile nervously while Inko started nodding vigorously. "That said, take both. Just in case."

**The Following Sunday**

A surprisingly good night of sleep, a hearty breakfast, and a heartfelt goodbye between mother and son gave Izuku tremendous hope for what would be his first day at UA! The tram ride across the city was filled with excitement and curiosity on what his teachers would be like, and his fellow students, maybe he'd make friends! Hopefully Bakugo was in a different class... Maybe he failed... _There's no way I'll be that lucky._

Izuku didn't dwell on old anxieties, not even Bakugo could ruin this day! As he walked the hill to UA he saw two individuals ahead of him chatting in school uniforms. Recognizing that they wore the same uniforms, he rushed ahead to meet them. "Hey! Are you in Class 1-A?" The pair of students turned Izuku felt himself go numb as a girl with familiar brown hair turn to meet him. _Oh... It's the girl from the entrance exam... OOOOH NOoooo..._

Izuku slowed as recognition dawned on the girl's face. A brief flash of something passed through her before she quickly smiled. "Hi! Yes, we are! You too?" Izuku felt himself slowly nod in response. _Maybe she doesn't know me. Nariko was fully manifested when the incident happened. Maybe I have a chance!_ "Sorry about what happened at the entrance exam." Izuku heard glass shatter inside his own head as his mouth auto-piloted to the LAST thing he wanted to mention. He clapped a hand over his mouth in fear of what he might say next. Yet the girl blinked and simply waved her hand at him in dismissal, "it's okay. I heard about what happened after. You have a really powerful shapeshifting quirk that you can't really control. I get it, my quirk makes me violently sick if I use it too long. That's why we're here right? To learn how to master them so we can be heroes. I forgive you. Besides, Recovery Girl healed me so well I don't even have scars." And in the space of a minute, Izuku had one less worry and two new friends.

Izuku walked the rest of the way to UA High with Uraraka Ochoco and Tsuyu Asui, the girl with the Frog quirk. It seems they met on the tram and had become fast friends. Almost as quickly they had pulled Izuku into their gossip on what class would be like. Uraraka believed they would be part of a class full of really strong but friendly students with a tough teacher with a soft side. Tsuyu, or Tsu as she preferred, thought that was a little too neat and idealistic to be likely. Izuku wasn't too sure himself so he sided with Tsu on the class being like every other class they'd had, much to Uraraka's disappointment. But she quickly switched to her next topic having just remembered, "I heard a rumor going around that All Might is going to be a teacher!" This got Izuku and Tsu's attention, though Tsu was slow to believe it, Izuku immediately sprang into a mutter session over the matter.

"Hey, ground control to Major Tom? Izuku?" Suddenly brought back from his deep think, Izuku noticed the girls were behind him, leaning around a familiar blue arch... The UA School Gateway! "Sorry! I zoned out!" 

Thankfully Izuku didn't have any more incidents on the way to class and they entered to discover they were not the first arrivals. Instead Izuku had a new problem, Bakugo was in his homeroom! Red eyes locked onto him and became a familiar glare. "Deku..." Izuku was preparing his usual array of cafefully made greetings to Bakugo when someone raised their voice and made a hand chop motion towards Bakugo, "Don't start a new conversation! That is extremely rude, as we are not finished! You will stop disrespectfully leaning against the teacher's desk and take a seat!" A rigidly standing young man was loudly addressing Bakugo but Bakugo wasn't listening, too intent on Izuku. "Are you listening to me?"

Izuku decided not to say anything, uncertain of Bakugo's mood considering someone else had apparently been angrily lecturing him. Instead he slid down the side of the room with Uraraka and Tsu following while sharing a concerned look. Izuku checked the seating number versus his assigned seat and saw his was about halfway down and against the windows on the far side of the room. He looked at Uraraka and Tsu who, after taking a moment to check for themselves shook their heads in disappointment. Izuku merely shrugged, "as least we're in the same class." Both nodded but then Tsu gave Izuku a puzzled look, "Why did that creep call you Deku?" Izuku watched Bakugo quickly switch his gaze to Tsu and correctly predicted what would happen next, "Who you calling a creep Frog-Face?"

Tsu turned in surprise, having asked the question in a low voice and while the other teen had been loudly addressing Bakugo. Izuku was well aware Bakugo had sharp hearing when he focused it. "It doesn't matter. Just an old nickname. I call him Kacchan." Izuku said this with what he hoped was a disarming smile. Neither Tsu nor Uraraka looked convinced. But soon enough the rest of the class filtered in and first bell rang. Izuku took his seat and in a moment of unpleasant realization, saw that Bakugo was moving to sit right behind him. For a minute the students sat at attention awaiting their homeroom teacher. Then the teen with the glasses shot up out of his seat, "where is our teacher? Are we in the wrong room?"

Suddenly the strange yellow duffel bag in the far corner of the room rolled over and a pale face peered out at the class from what was now clearly a sleeping bag. "Points for realizing something was amiss but you failed my first test on observation skills." You could probably have heard a pin drop in that classroom. The figure sat up, unzipped the sleeping bag and stepped out. "I am Aizawa Sensei, your homeroom teacher. Head to the P.E. lockers on the first floor, switch to your P.E. clothes and assemble on the field outside for a Quirk Apprehension Test." The bespectacled teen raised a hand at this. Aizawa Sensei pointed a finger before saying, "Iida Tenya, you have a question." Iida bowed quickly before replying, "yes Sensei, are we not attending orientation with the other classes?" Aizawa Sensei paused for a moment before answering, "We are not, I don't consider it a appropriate use of valuable time. Any other questions?" The classes reply came in the form of students rising from their seats before heading for the door.

A few minutes later and twenty students dressed in P.E. clothes had assembled in a staggered line. Aizawa stepped forward to address them. "I need a volunteer." Immediately Bakugo and Iida stepped forward. "Mr. Bakugo will suit my purposes better, but thank you for your enthusiasm Mr. Iida." Iida stepped back in line while Bakugo stepped forward. "What is your record for pitching distance?" Bakugo looked at Aizawa for a moment before giving his reply, "Sixity-five meters." Aizawa nodded but then asked, "With your quirk?" Bakugo stared back for a moment before shaking his head, "without it. Never had a test with it."

Aizawa lobbed a baseball to Bakugo who caught it, looked it over, and then gave Aizawa his best feral grin in understanding. The whole class watched as Bakugo used his quirk to ptich the ball 700 meters with an explosion and a curse. "Most if not all of the tests you have taken do not involve use of your quirk. That is because you are not expected to use them without being a licensed hero. Here at UA, nearly every test will involve your quirk. Quirk's you will have years of background experience using." A chill went up Izuku's spine when he heard those words.

"This was a demonstration of the sort of thing I'm talking about. Your quirks will have their strengths and weaknesses of course, which is why we will run a battery of tests. In part to see what those strengths and weaknesses are, to see what I am working with, and where you need improvement." _Well okay. That's not so bad. He's encouraging use of our quirks. Giving us good advice and setting a standard to exceed. Nothing to worry about._ "Wrong Mr. Midoirya." Izuku heard the menace in Aizawa's voice. He looked and noticed Aizawa's eyes were on him. Glancing around told him he'd been muttering out loud again. "I don't teach those with no potential. It's not worth my time. Be warned, these tests will be graded and the one with the lowest score will be expelled from my class and from UA." This time the short stream of curses Izuku imagined stayed unsaid. Barely.

It wasn't the fear of the threat of expulsion that hung on his mind, that was a certainty! Today was just supposed to be orientation day. All Izuku had brought with him was his normal backpack, a notebook, and a metal jug of water. He thought about asking to leave to retrieve his other backpack or just nab Nariko and try to contain her while rushing back. But he imagined that at best he'd be denied and at worst Aizawa would tell him not to come back. It quickly became evident that the only way he'd survive today was to compete and edge out some other poor student... without a quirk. He could hope...

But soon it was becoming evident he had none. His first hope was he could outrun the one named Mineta by being taller with a longer stride. But Mineta upended that by gluing Izuku's foot to the course with one of his adhesive sphere's growing out of his head. He beat him at the Grip Strength Test. Followed by Mineta somehow making a polevault out of his damn spheres! Izuku overtook him in the sustained sideways jump. He just had to beat him in the return of the Pitching Test... _FUCKER PRACTICED HIS PTICH WITH THE SPHERES AGAIN! AAAAAAAAAAAH!_

Izuku felt the spirit of death looming over his shoulder. It was like being quirkless all over again. He took one day for granted and his dream was in peril. Izuku had never had a good throwing arm and didn't have the benefit of a quirk that allow him multiple practice attempts with physical markers. In the end it hadn't been anywhere as impressive as some. Uraraka floating her ball into space had been both amusing and impressive in it's simple creativity. But now Izuku was ready. One mistake and he'd be almost all the way back at square one. He'd have to fight for a space at any hero school now, probably wait another year and deal with the stigmatism that came with it. He sighed before taking a deep breath and settled into his best pitching stance and prepared to toss his dream away. "Mr. Midoriya... a word please."

Shota watched Midoriya walk over to him, ball held in a white knuckle grip. He could see stress in him as plain as day. It was clear he was being stopped by his own mind. He had argued Midoriya belonged in 1-B with a quirk he had use of for the effective span of a year. His class was for students with issues in control because of power over control. Vlad and 1-B was meant for those with a quirk whose power would come from drive. It was time to rectify this situation. "Midoriya, I understand you discovered and started making use of your quirk about a year ago." Izuku nodded but said nothing. "I also understand that it is difficult to control. As you describe it, it is like having another living being in your head pulling you in a different direction." Izuku nodded once more. "I understand. You will be leaving my class but you will not be expelled. As long as you do your best now." At this Izuku looked up at him with confusion. "Aizawa Sensei, I have been trying. I never gave up. I just-" Aizawa held up a hand. "The whole time I've watched you I have not sensed you using your quirk. You aren't trying. Your afraid of your quirk. My class isn't suited for you. But I can't permit you to remain at UA if you don't try even once." Now Izuku started breathing hard, a look even greater fear and of anger peeking through. "That... isn't fair." Aizawa wasn't moved, he had heard that excuse a million times if he'd heard it once. "It's less fair than letting you stay and fill a space meant for someone who will try even if he fails. If you won't try, what makes you think you can be a hero?" Aizawa didn't wait for Midoriya to respond as he walked back to the group. Midoriya would have to find that answer for himself.

Izuku watched Aizawa go and felt himself start to come apart. He wanted to cry, to run away and hide. Why did life have to keep hurting him like this? Why did it give him a dream and then doing everything it could to take it from him? He couldn't stand it! He wanted this. More than anything in his life he wanted to beat life at it's own game! But he couldn't do it alone. He needed help. _I need help. Please._ **How can I help Daddy?** Izuku stiffened as a familiar feeling entered his mind. Nariko's presence, her thoughts and feelings. _Nariko? Are you here?_ **Yes Daddy. You feel so bad, so sick. What happened?** As Izuku felt Nariko's presence grow stronger he felt hope surge through him as well. _I encountered a problem I couldn't solve on my own. Can you help me?_ **Always!**

Aizawa watched Midoriya uncurl from whatever self pitying tantrum he had entered and strode back with purpose. _It took an all or nothing ultimatum to get you there? Vlad is going to have his work cut out for him._ Izuku walked up to the line that was the plate, a few students started to cheer Midoriya on and a few more joined in. "Come on Midoriya! Give it your all! Plus Ultra!" It took another moment for Aizawa to sense his quirk activate. A familiar feeling of something else staring at him, and not in a good way. _Just what kind of mutation quirk throws another mind into a kid's head?_ Aizawa watched as motes of light started being pulled towards Midoriya. Pretty soon the cheering stopped as confusion and wonder filled the class. Seconds later Midoriya's right hand rapidly began changing, his fingernails extending into claws and growing to an opaque yellow. His hands grew turquoise scales and yellows ridges grew up his forearm with stiff white fur growing between. The motes of energy grew more nurmous and a growing storm of them flew around his now mutated right arm. But the mutation stopped at the elbow.

Izuku could feel it. He had reached the point he wanted and pictured what he wanted to do. He had no idea if he could actually do it but Aizawa had wanted him to try. _He can't say I didn't try in a moment._ He focused the power into his arm, carefully holding the ball between his clawed fingers. He raised his arm, held out straight. By now the amount of energy he had pulled to himself was causing arcs of power to crackle and flow about him. He let go of the ball and flexed his fingers. The ball didn't fall to the ground, instead now being held in a ion field just in front of his palm. _So far so good._ **This is so fun!** Was all Nariko could say, enjoying the challenge of trying to hold and direct so many ions in a controlled manner. Then together, two minds became one in purpose. The ions reached a point of critical mass and in his steadiest english recited a carefully chosen phrase he had planned for his future special move with Nariko.

**_"MIGHTENING CANNON!"_ **

Whatever Midoriya had expected to happen... did not. As all the energy Midoriya had been planning to discharge into the horizon was released, all it did was surge out as a fluttering horde of ions in a massive cloud moving at about running pace before dispersing about 14 meters away in a rapid series of pops on par with a superstring. The ball itself was carried in this cloud until the fireworks started. Then it quickly got blown apart by the millions of energy microbursts. When the noise had stopped there was utter silence before Midoriya turned to look at his hand with a confused expression. "I'm going to need to work on that." Then he turned around to look at Aizawa and his class.

The reaction was mixed. Aizawa, Iida, Bakugo, the teen with white and red hair, and one or two others looked confused. Most everyone else however were in varying states of silent joy. All it took was a snicker from someone before they all began to either laugh, yell, or whoop in approval. Izuku felt himself shrink back as Uraraka led a charge of excited and highly amused high schoolers right for him. "That was amazing Midoriya! How did you do that?" Izuku tried to answer but another student named Kirishima pushed forward and playfully slapped him on the shoulder. "That was so incredibly manly! You can make fireworks? So cool!" And yet another student pressed in, pink skinned Ashido, and took her own turn congratulating Izuku on his performance. "You have GOT to come to with me on parties! You will make them ten times cooler!"

Aizawa watched Midoriya try and deal with the attention of his classmates while he dealt with a frightening impossibility. Something about his mutation quirk couldn't be explained. He had seen what those particles had done to the zero pointer, the power behind it had been frightening. A part of him had worried Izuku had been pushed too far and at the time was overcompensating for his earlier refusal to participate. He had tried erasing his quirk out of concern, and nothing had happened. _Just like before. What is-_ "YOUR QUIRK YOU FUCKING CHEATER!?!?"

The words silenced the celebration like water thrown on a fire. Everyone turned to look at a majorly enraged Bakugo. "Kacchan I... It's my quirk. I... well it's a bit complicated but -" Bakugo started forward with his palms crackling. The sound clearly causing fear in Midoriya. "You've been quirkless for years and sudden you get a quirk Deku? Who'd you steal it from hunh?" Aizawa was far from amused and more than a little confused by this reaction. Midoriya had said they were childhood friends. Something was wrong with image here and now. "Kaccha-aa-" Aizawa was immediately focused on Midoriya as a sound of fear and pain entered his breaking voice. Izuku had doubled over, his mutated arm twitching while his body started convulsing.

**Dangerous, violent, hurtful. Stop hurting Daddy! I'll KILL YOU!** It was like fighting a seizure and a wild animal amny times larger, which seemed very accurate of what was actually happening. Nariko could feel his fear and could see the memories of Bakugo bullying him in the past. Izuku was doing everything to keep Nariko inside but it was a vicious cycle of fighting fear: of her escaping or Bakugo attacking him while he was down. He'd had no problems doing it in the past. Ironically it was Aizawa and his class that saved him. "Midoriya! Midoriya, what's wrong?" "Did he overuse his quirk?" "Give him some space!" "Little shit thinks he can fake some stupid panic attack to avoid me! Get up you little-" "THAT'S ENOUGH"

Aizawa waded in and saw Midoriya's convulsions were also causing, or were perhaps caused by, wild mutations. The distinctive horns were budding from his skull and his other arm had transitioned to his chimera form. But otherwise he seemed to be holding it back while curled up in a defensive curl. Once again applying his erasure quirk on Midoriya, this time there was an effect as his body rapidly shifted back to normal, the mutated limbs and additions flowing back like wet clay and disappearing as if they had never been. _One of the strangest mutation quirks I have ever seen._ While the danger seemed to have passed, Midoriya appeared to be out cold. Aizawa flipped open his phone and speed dialed Recovery Girl. As soon as that was done he was going to interrogate Bakugo about their past.

**An Hour Later in the Nurse's Office**

Izuku awoke with a start. He was in a bed, still dressed in his P.E. clothes. The space had a familiar smell of sanitation that belonged to any nurse's office. He looked around but the resident nurse was aware of him first. He jumped as an orange object was thrust up to him on his left. "Lollipop dearie?" Izuku refocused his eyes and indeed there was a lollipop being offered. "Thanks..." He took it hesitantly. Looked left and recognized Recovery Girl, now more of a Recovery Granny if he was being honest. "Just relax dearie, let me know if you need anything." With that she used her syringe shaped cane like an oar and rowed across the room while sitting in a wheeled office chair. Izuku blinked before remembering about Aizawa's test. "Oh no- I need to go. Now. Thank you for the Lollipop!" 

Izuku tumbled out of the cot and grabbed his shoes from where they were tucked under the bed. In a sudden clatter of wheels. Recovery Girl was back in Izuku's face with a stern look on her face. It shouldn't have frightened him, but he sensed danger behind that look. "You!" She said with surprising force and a whap on the knee with her cane. "-Are going nowhere until I've cleared you. Youwere brought in here after suffering a seizure! Clear sign of quirk overuse. You need rest and no buts!" Truth be told Izuku didn't remember having a seizure until she mentioned it. Suddenly a ghost of pain flitted up from somewhere in his chest. "But I feel fine." Recovery Girl huffed in impatience, "a peck from me and an hours rest will do that." Izuku nodded when he considered that point, Recovery Girl's quirk did cause fatigue in exchange for healing... Izuku tried surging out of bed while shouting, "I'VE BEEN OUT HOW LONG!?!?" Recovery Girl gave him another whap on the knee before responding, "An hour, and you'll spend an hour more resting if you want to leave sooner rather than later!"

** Several Hours later at the end of the school day **

Not one moment had Izuku been able to relax. After trying too hard to impress and then fighting Nariko into a seizure induced state of unconsciousness had likely not impressed Aizawa. It seemed all too likely that he would be expelled. He also missed two class periods and their curriculum overview. When asked they stated he could get them after school, after meeting with Principal Nedzu. Finally the time had come. A part of him argued he would have been sent home if he were expelled. Another part felt certain he'd recieve a lecture from Nedzu before he kindly kicked him to the curb. He knocked on the door and a light voice bid him enter.

"Ah, Mr. Midoriya. Please come in. I hope you had an interesting orientation day." Izuku didn't speak. He entered and stood then tried to stand at attention before the Principal. Of all the staff Izuku had met today... Prinicpal Nedzu was oddly the most calming. Maybe it was his light hearted voice and pleasant demeanor. Or maybe it was his appearance as a strange small amalgamation of bear, mouse, and maybe some other fluffy mammal. "Please Mr. Midoriya take a seat." Izuku wasn't especially keen on sitting, he wanted to know his fate sooner rather than later. But if that was still being debated, being polite didn't hurt his chances.

"It was certainly exciting," Izuku replied as he took a seat on one of the guest couches. Nedzu gave a little chuckle before responding, "a little excitement is certainly a good thing. But perhaps you had too much today?" Izuku quickly replied, "no no, today was a good day. I... had fun. I met new friends. I learned something too." Nedzu nodded before asking, "what did you learn?" Izuku grinned before replying, "don't anger Recovery Girl. She hits hard with her cane." It was a weak joke but Nedzu laughed with what sounded like genuine mirth. "A very good lesson to learn early young man." And despite his own anxiety, Izuku chuckled a bit.

"There now. Isn't that better than worrying about nothing?" Izuku looked up at Nedzu and wondered what he meant. "Beg your pardon Principal Nedzu... what do you mean?" Nedzu forced a pause with a sip from a tea cup Izuku hadn't noticed before. The act was oddly calming. "You've spent the entire day worrying about Aizawa's test haven't you? Well no need to fear. You took a risk and tried your best. While you didn't beat Mr. Mineta's score, that wasn't really the point. The test was about whether you as a student, when faced with a great and terrible challenge, would persevere and try your best no matter what. You were scared to use your quirk, but at the end you didn't give up or complain. You did your best! You tried your very worst! Nothing else matters." Izuku was surprised by Principal Nedzu's point of view. Izuku had tried and yet still failed to surpass Mineta, he should be expelled. But if the the test was only about trying...

Watching Midoriya piece the facts together was most amusing. He had a very expressive face, eyes full of emotion, and clearly possessed a keen mind if the muttering was anything to go by. _He'll want lessons on habit control for the future._ When his face light up like neon in realization Nedzu couldn't help but chuckle even before he spoke. "It was a hoax! He said that to see if we'd crack under pressure or slack off if we thought we were safe from expulsion!" Nedzu was even more impressed, Midoriya saw past personal desire to how his classmates might behave. A step beyond the norm, there were a few reasons more but what Izuku demonstrated in his understanding was impressive. "Your performance at the very end gave you the greatest reason why we should teach you. You overcame your fear and went beyond. Now you just need some help balancing your quirk with your confidence. Vlad King will be an excellent teacher for you, young man."

And yet Izuku wasn't fully happy. He had a place at UA after all. But he thought of Uraraka and Tsuyu, Kirishima, Ashido, Kaminari, Sero, Hagakure... "If it's at all possible, I'd like to stay in class 1-A." Nedzu tilted his head, smile still in place. "And why is that Mr. Midoriya?" To this Izuku shrugged and said, "I think I'd miss the friends I made in 1-A today. And I'm not afraid of my quirk anymore. I just need to practice." Nedzu made a humming sound while he stroked his rodent chin with a paw for a moment, then laughed briefly. "Those sound like good reasons to me!"

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed my work.
> 
> Feel free to leave a comment, some feedback if you want.


End file.
